Breakfast At Tifa's
by perfect sorceress
Summary: After a rather disastrous start to his first year in university, eighteen-year-old Riku finds his sanctuary - a little cafe near his apartment building. When Riku meets a certain blonde girl, he has no choice but to seek advice in his safe spot...RIKINE
1. An Introduction to Life

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts (II), Riku, Sora, Kairi, etc. **

**Author's Note: Okay! So! New story! Whoot! Alright, so...this is my first Rikiné/Namiku ever, so I don't know exactly how this is going to turn out. However, I shall try my hardest to make this succeed, or, at least, get one review per chapter. (Thinking of **_**Born To Be Wild**_**.)**

**Warning: Rikie gets emotional. **

**Quick Author Babble: Ah!! I just love Riku's mom! Of course, if she was real, I would've probably shot her by now...**

Breakfast At Tifa's

Chapter 1: An Introduction to Life

What is life? What is most important in life? What does everyone experience at least once in their life?

Well, Riku had always thought there were no answers to these questions. Life was unsolved and forever would be. Nothing is most important in life—everything is important. Riku had always thought like this, and thought he always would.

Is that why he had such people in his life? Such happy people, always smiling and making him roll his eyes, always laughing at jokes he could not understand, always playing games that he couldn't comprehend until he was actually playing. Was this what life was?

_Certainly not, _said a little voice in his head. There was something else.

Something he was missing.

**xXx**

"Come on, you three, another picture!" Mrs. Allen whined, pointing her camera right in Riku's face.

"Mom!" Riku hissed through his teeth, slamming the camera down with such force that it nearly fell.

"Gentle, Rikie!" Mrs. Allen cooed. "You wouldn't want to break Mommy's new digital camera, now would you, sweetie ookums?"

"Ah!" Riku looked away from his mother as his face turned a dark shade of crimson. What an annoying woman!

"Oh, come on, Riku, just let her take the picture." A chirpy voice from behind the silver-haired boy piped up, clearly trying to hold back laughter.

Riku turned and glared. A spiky-haired, brunet boy with tanned skin and the biggest, bluest eyes you could imagine stood their grinning, showing his two sets of pearly white teeth.

"Not helping, Sora," Riku snapped, gritting his teeth and setting his chin in a formidable manner.

Sora was his best friend. He had always been his best friend, and Riku had the feeling he always would be. Perhaps it was because Sora was such a bright, happy, loyal person, or maybe it was because Riku wanted to think happy thoughts considering it might be the last day they'd ever see each other again.

"Sora's right, Riku! It could be the last day we'd be together like this again! We've got to get as many memories as possible!"

A firmer scowl printed on Riku's face. He turned, glaring at the red-haired girl behind him. Kairi. She always had to be so sweet. It was sickening.

Who was Kairi? Oh, well, Kairi was also a good friend of Riku's. Not a _best_ friend, but the two boys kept her as close as they could—although, Riku had to admit, he was probably the reason for why Kairi wasn't buddy-buddy with them yet. Sora and Kairi were such friendly, social people that they stuck together like magnets. Riku had no choice but to be the wall. They'd be all over each other if he wasn't. He made a good wall. Nice and sturdy.

"You two are officially mentally retarded," he snapped, poking Kairi and Sora's foreheads. "You always have to be so nice to my mother. We all know she's an insane woman who probably should go to a mental asylum..."

"Smile, guys!" A blinding flash caught Riku right in his aquamarine eye. Letting out a howl, he covered his eyes with both hands. Behind his eyelids, there was an eruption of colorful dots.

"Totally deserved it," Sora murmured quietly to Kairi.

"I HEARD THAT!" Riku yelled, punching blindly at the air, hoping he'd hit Sora. "YOU MORON! YOU CALL YOURSELF A FRIEND! YOU IDIOTIC, RAVENOUS, HORRIBLE...!"

His fist made contact with something. Letting out a yell of triumph, he opened his eyes.

"Ha! Take that, Sor..." The rainbow of colors cleared to see a red-haired girl doubled over in pain.

His face paled completely.

"A..."

"RIKU, YOU IDIOT!" Sora's voice was so loud that everyone cringed. He quickly knelt down and used his arm to support the redhead. "Are you okay, Kairi?" His voice obtained such a soft tone that it was like he was talking to a baby.

"I'm...fine..." The red-haired girl winced a little as she stood up, then smiled cheerfully at the two boys. "It's okay."

"I think I'd better take you to the nurse anyway," Sora said decisively. "You were hit pretty hard."

Kairi rolled her eyes as Riku stood there feeling terrible. How could he be so stupid, punching wildly around with his eyes closed? As soon as Kairi leaves, Sora was going to kill him, no doubt about it.

Not that Sora _could_ kill him with his clearly inferior abilities. But still. It's the thought that counts.

"Sorry, Kairi," Riku apologized shamefully. "I didn't meant to hit you."

"I know you didn't." Kairi's smile was so wide that it was almost scary. How could someone be so optimistic? "It's okay."

Riku gave her the shortest half-smile he could muster, then gave a side glance to Sora who was looking at him in a way that said "It's definitely _not_ okay." Then, without another word, the brunet boy dragged Kairi away to the nurse's office.

"Oy," Mrs. Allen sighed, pressing her fingers to her forehead. "What a stupid son I have. Doing such a thing on his graduation day!"

Indeed, it _was_ Riku's graduation day. Or, as it turned out, his, Sora's, _and_ Kairi's graduation day—the ceremony that seemed so small to onlookers but so big to participants. After this one summer, Riku's whole life was going to change.

Riku was going to have the biggest change of all of his friends because Sora and Kairi happened to be attending the same university, while he was going to a separate one. Ahh!! The horror already started so early for him.

What would Sora and Kairi do without their wall? The whole point of their relationship was so that they could have a nice, sturdy, dependable separation from each other so they don't turn into one of those paperback novels.

"Hey!" Riku snapped, anger sparking. "This is all your fault in the first place! You and your stupid camera!"

This wasn't completely true, but it felt good to put the blame on someone else.

"At least I'm not the person who had to resort to violence, as always," Mrs. Allen replied coolly.

Riku grit his teeth. He had to get away from this conversation.

"I'm going to go check if Kairi's okay," he said.

Excuses, excuses. Oh well. He might as well go check on Kairi anyway, considering he was running in the school's direction.

**xXx**

It was dark in the school. All the lights were off, coating Riku in an uncomfortable darkness, and nobody seemed to be present, causing an unbearable silence.

Everyone was at the graduation ceremony, Riku figured. Ah, well. It might be a good time to just look at the school for one last time...

He stared at the posterboard at the left side of the hallway. Had he really ever _looked_ at it before? It was weird how things seemed to make such an impact on you when you realize it wasn't going to be there anymore.

A happy, yellow poster was pinned up onto the board. Riku squinted to make out the words.

"Good...luck to...our...graduates," Riku deciphered through the shadows.

A black graduation hat sat in the middle of the poster, glowing with an enthusiastic green. Instead of making Riku smile though, it made him frown. What a dumb poster. Good luck for what? "Good luck for life"? "Good luck trying to succeed, suckers"?

It just made Riku's situation all the more real. He was graduating, and in two in a half months, he'd be leaving Destiny Islands for maybe forever. How could this be? Sure, Riku had always wondered about what it would be like to live on his own, but leaving his home, his friends, and even his school behind? It wasn't experience and it definitely wasn't good luck. It was torture.

Riku ripped down the poster and crumpled it up before it could deceive him any longer. Then, quickly disposing of it by tossing it into the nearest classroom, he decided he'd look for Sora and Kairi.

Going through the maze of hallways to locate the nurse's office, Riku passed his ex-locker. He stopped abruptly and sent it a glare. He remembered all the moldy things he had to pull out of there a week ago and cringed. He also remembered the pictures he'd constantly put up then quickly pull down because he didn't want his locker to look like a girl's. Who was going to get his locker next year? He imagined some greasy kid with zits all over his face picking his nose and wiping it on the blue metal.

"Gah!" Riku covered his mouth with his hand in disgust and quickly turned away from the locker. Okay, moving on...

He passed the principal's office. Now here was something he wasn't going to miss. The principal, some old guy by the name "Xemnas", had caught Riku and Sora doing numerous idiotic things, and each time his head nearly blew off. Kairi had always been so worried about their permanent records, but personally, the two boys had never cared all that much.

Thinking about Sora and Kairi, Riku's mind wandered to other places. He wondered what would happen when he went off to Twilight University. Who would he goof around with now? Who would actually manage to make him smile like an idiot? Who would sit him down and force him to do his homework?

Not Sora and Kairi, that's for sure.

He wondered if they would miss him as much as he would miss them. It was almost embarrassing to think about. Of course they wouldn't miss him! They had each other. Riku would find someone else to hang around with.

Of course, just thinking so was probably not going to help. Riku had began high school secluding himself, until one term Sora was in his class, and, as usual, brought Riku into a bad mood by trying to include him in class activities. He also introduced him to Kairi, who Riku didn't like at all in the beginning. Of course, she grew on him eventually, but not as much as she did on Sora. Kairi was the magnet and Sora was the helpless, metallic object. So pathetic.

And that was how Riku became the wall. The big, thick wall that held their friendship together, but also kept them apart just enough so that no one was sucked up by hormones. Unfortunate, but true. The job suited Riku perfectly though—he always was built strongly and icily.

So, maybe they would miss him, if not a ton. He was their wall. Their foundation. They needed him.

Brimming with a bizarre confidence, Riku stopped outside the nurse office. Unlike the rest of the school, it was lit up and the door was open.

"Hi..." he began, but was stopped by the voices inside.

"Kairi, to be honest..." Sora was saying, but his voice sounded odd and a bit unnatural, "I've always...really liked you..."

Eh? Riku peeked through the crack in the door in alarm. How had this conversation started? Why had he taken his time coming here? Was he that crappy a wall?

Sora was blushing and looking down. If he wasn't in such a situation, Riku would've laughed himself sick. Unfortunately, he was in no place to do that.

"Sora..." Kairi's voice sounded weird too. They didn't sound happy-go-lucky as they always did, but with a level of seriousness that Riku couldn't comprehend.

Their faces inched a little closer. Riku felt an urge to slap them—or at least one of them—and yell at them to snap out of it. What the heck were they thinking? But the more he urged himself to do so, the more he couldn't, because it gave him more time to look at their faces—their bright red faces that showed more than Riku thought was possible for a face to show—and he knew it wasn't his place to do anything.

"I really like you too," Kairi concluded with a mischievous smile.

Riku couldn't decide if he wanted to throw up or launch a projectile. Could he do both?

Kairi made the first move. She gave him a light but long kiss. Sora's blue eyes were wide open all the way through. He looked like such an idiot. Riku felt his hand instinctively reaching for his cell phone to take a picture, but stopped himself.

"Sora?" Kairi looked confused. "You okay?"

"Do that again," Sora commanded. "This time I'll be ready for it, I swear."

Riku imagined himself rolling his eyes. Classic Sora. He couldn't bring himself to actually do it though. He felt this strange sensation of emptiness in the pit of his stomach, and they were leaning forward again...

Riku turned his head quickly and ran. He couldn't have run more fast if he tried. His long, silver hair was blowing in his eyes and it was irritating, but his fingers were too numb to reach over and brush it from his face. It was like his brain had switched off. All that were working were his legs, running and running for all eternity, pushing themselves just that much farther.

Soon, he was outside. His mother spotted him almost instantly. She waved ecstatically.

"Riku!" she called. "Perfect timing! You're father just got here!"

He ignored her. He turned away from the graduation platform and ran down the road.

"Rikie!" his mom called after him. "Where are you going?!"

_Don't call me Rikie, you stupid woman! _Riku wanted to yell at her.

"Home!" he shouted instead, and indeed, turned in the direction of his house.

What was he going to do when he got there? Reminisce again? Collapse on his bed and fall asleep? Watch TV until the ultra-violet rays damaged his eyes permanently?

Who knew? He just wanted to be at home and dosed in familiarity. At least, he knew, not much could've changed there.

**So, how did you like it? Believe it or not, I seriously do want to hear your opinion! No, there is no fluff yet, or even the slightest sign of Naminé's existence, but I swear there will be! Pinky promise!**

**Read and review! (...Please?)**

**Nighty-night!**


	2. Departure

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts (II), Naminé, Roxas, Selphie, etc.**

**Author's Note: Oh my God! An update! Can you believe it?! Didn't you think I had fallen off the face of the Earth?! Well, no such luck. As a matter of fact, all I've been doing is sitting around the house doing homework and avoiding practicing guitar, missing my friends. And this chapter happens to be all about friendship. It made me want to cry. Boo, hoo, hoo…**

**Warning: Completely unplanned pairing. Don't blame me.**

**Quick Author Babble: Squeal! Roxas!**

Chapter 2: Departure

Naminé had no idea where the time went. It seemed like only yesterday she was four years old, playing in the sandbox and crying every time she scraped her knee. But now she was about three times the size she was when she was four, and she was wearing a graduation robe too, huddled in a quiet corner behind Rose Garden Institute, the school she had gone to for four years, with her three best friends, Selphie, Olette, and Roxas. The hollow yells from the graduation party rang constantly in Naminé's ears. For most people, it was a happy day, a sign for a new adventure. But for Naminé, it was simply depression. She turned and looked at the other three teens (adults, technically), but they all stared back at her in silence. Naminé put it on herself the responsibility of speaking first.

"Do you guys feel like going to the party?" she suggested almost cheerfully.

Selphie and Olette continued looking at her in silence. Roxas's piercing blue eyes fell into almost a glare.

"No," he said flatly. "Why would we?"

That was classic Roxas—so blunt and straightforward. He kept looking at her. It made Naminé turn an embarrassing shade of red, so she quickly turned away. Naminé had always thought of Roxas as a little more than a "friend". Of course, this information she could only ever share with Olette, who was helpful and gave good advice, but also wasn't quite as much of a blabbermouth as Selphie.

"Don't you...want to have some fun?" Naminé persisted, even though she wasn't in much of a party mood herself. "I mean, you only graduate high school once…"

"Cut it out, Naminé." Roxas was speaking for the entire group once again. "What the heck makes you think we want to go to a party when you're leaving tomorrow?"

Naminé breathed in. That's right. She was leaving for Twilight Town earlier than most students would because her parents wanted her to get "settled in"…a.k.a. "out of their hair" considering they had three other children still at the ages of six and below. The more she thought about it, the more her mind couldn't get a grasp on it. She was leaving Radiant Garden, her home, her birthplace, her best friends in the world.

"I know that!" she exclaimed. "That's why I want to make my last day here a happy one!"

There was a silence that followed. Roxas continued glaring. And in the pit of her stomach, Naminé felt like she had lied to her friends in a way. She didn't really want good memories. She wanted her friends to remember her. She wanted them to call her every week. She wanted them to miss her and think about the last time they saw each other—not in a state of depression, but in a burst of happiness—and make them feel all tingly inside. But she couldn't say such a thing because she knew it was selfish and wrong and weird. But she couldn't lie to herself. She wanted her friends to love her for all of eternity.

"Naminé's right," Olette agreed, green eyes watching her with a small smile. "I mean, is it so bad to make our last day of youth together fun? We can't just sit here sulking about her leaving, or we'll just be more depressed when she leaves."

Naminé was so grateful for the brunette that she nearly cried. Olette grinned at her. Selphie stood up from her half-sitting position and nodded.

"What harm can a little cheerfulness do?" she giggled, glossy, pink lips glimmering. "Let's make the most of it, right, Nammy?"

They all looked at Roxas, who was still leaning against the wall, looking at them in annoyance. Naminé threw him a sad, little smile.

"Come on, Roxas," she remarked. "It won't be the same without you."

Roxas breathed out, looked up at the gloomy, grey sky, and stuck out his lower lip in almost a pout.

"Fine," he finally gave in, "but not here."

A sense of bewilderment drifted over the girls.

"Where then?" Naminé asked.

Roxas grabbed her wrist and raced out of the schoolyard. Olette and Selphie froze, temporarily shocked, before racing after Roxas calling him a "hoodlum" and to "give Naminé back". They raced into the forest. Deeper and deeper they went. Naminé kept tripping over rocks and nearly twisted her ankle a numerous amount of times, but, as usual, could not find the boldness to voice her words, and Roxas showed no sign of stopping.

"R-Roxas?" she panted after awhile. It had been a couple of minutes since she had completely lost track of Selphie and Olette, and it was worrying her. Now all she could hear was her and Roxas's footsteps.

"Did we lose them?" For the first time in almost half an hour, Roxas stopped and looked around, not breathing half as hard as Naminé was. Darn him and his athletic abilities.

"Why? Was that your goal?" Naminé asked snidely, standing up straighter and giving him the I-don't-know-if-I-should-be-mad-or-not-so-I'm-pretending look.

"Yes, actually." The reply caught her off guard. It sent tingles down her back and to the tips of her toes. Roxas had wanted to be with her. Alone. Combining the loss of breath and excitement, Naminé was worried she would hyperventilate.

"I…ah…well…is that so?" she asked lamely, feeling a tinge of red go across her cheeks.

"Stuttering already?" Roxas smiled and pushed a lock of Naminé's long, golden hair behind her ear. His touch made her shiver...in a good way. "I wanted you all to myself today."

"Ah…well…is that so?" Naminé repeated, feeling like a broken record, not that she particularly felt like being fixed.

Roxas laughed.

"Weirdo." He took a step closer. The sweltering sun and the boiling sweat dripping from her hot skin no longer existed. Neither did the trees or the grass or even the sky. Just Roxas. Only Roxas.

Naminé felt she should say something, but she didn't want to. The moment was too fragile and far too rare. A single syllable could bring it crashing down.

He leaned in. Their noses were now touching. It would be terrifying if it wasn't Roxas. But it was. And he was being so gentle. Naminé was beginning to suspect the moment was too perfect, that any second now Selphie and Olette would come bursting through the trees and break them apart at the very last second.

But they didn't.

As Roxas's lips met hers, she could immediately tell it was going to be one of those fairytale kisses—those wonderful, exciting ones that were to never be forgotten—and it made her all the more happy.

"I really, really like you, Naminé," he said softly, so softly that Naminé felt like she had imagined it. She couldn't find the words that she had been dying to say for years. All she could do was look up at him, her eyes trying to express all the things she wished she could say. He half-smiled and patted her on the head. "I guess that came a little late, didn't it?"

It was a reminder—a single sentence that brought her back to painstaking reality. She was leaving tomorrow. Leaving Roxas tomorrow. She would only be able to see him at Christmas. Her throat tightened. Her eyes became wet. Why? Why was fate so cruel?

She dove into his arms, warm tears dampening his graduation robe. "Come with me" she wanted to plead, or "help me convince my parents to let me stay here." But the longer she thought about it, the more impossible it seemed, the crueler the universe became.

"I don't want to go," she finally choked out.

"I don't want you to go either," Roxas sighed, letting his head fall on top of hers. How short she felt. How childish and immature of her to fall crying into his arms. But the longer she continued, the harder it became for her to stop. She finally gets the moment she'd been dreaming of since elementary school, and this happens. After today, there would be no more time with Roxas. It instilled a sense of audaciousness in her—a sort of "like there's no tomorrow" streak. She squeezed Roxas a little tighter, like a kindergartner turning to her teddy bear for comfort.

"I love you, Roxas," she breathed. There was no time to think. No time to analyze what would happen next. Just now. Right then. How could she hold back knowing she would be saying goodbye for months?

There was no reply—just chilling silence. Naminé became worried. She had said something wrong. It was too soon for that. She truly was an idiot.

"Naminé..." And before she knew it, _she_ was the teddy bear, being hugged until there was no breath left in her. Roxas was so...perfect.

"_Roxas! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" _

"_Nammy? Nammy, you okay? Nammy!!!" _

Roxas frowned and they broke apart. Naminé sighed. Well, you couldn't say she hadn't been expecting it. But at least Olette and Selphie hadn't interrupted the kiss. At the thought of the word "kiss" Naminé's stomach flipped and her face turned beet red. They _had_ kissed! She and Roxas...Roxas, he...and her...

Unbelievable! A miracle! Slapping her hands to her face from embarrassment, she burned a dark crimson. She felt nauseous in the best way possible. And perhaps...the tiniest bit...hopeful?

"_Roxas!" _

"_Nammy!" _

"Ugh." Roxas made a face and scrunched up his nose. "Brats. They have no sense of timing."

"I-I'm sure they're just worried," Naminé stuttered, though she agreed with him wholeheartedly.

"I guess we should go, huh?" Roxas remarked. Naminé gave a tentative nod. No need to provoke this nervousness any further.

"Oh, but, Nam..." Roxas began, looking like he was about to make a point.

"Hm?" Naminé asked innocently.

He swooped down and kissed her again—quicker this time, in fact hardly at all. But now that Naminé was fully conscious and back from the clouds, it took her completely by surprise, sending her into another flurry of butterflies.

"R-Roxas!" Naminé's voice cracked, her face once again alight with a blast of tomato red.

Roxas smiled mischievously, obviously unfazed. He gave a little chuckle as she stood there flustered.

"You're so cute," he stated, grinning widely.

"Aah! Stop!" she cried, wondering how red she could possibly be. Roxas laughed and almost skipped off. Realizing if she was left behind she would probably get lost, Naminé raced after him.

"_Eeeekk! Roxas! There you are! What did you do to Nammy?!" _

**xXx**

Naminé sighed and collapsed on her bed. She was surrounded by cardboard boxes—unfamiliar boxes, boxes that carried all of her memories. Her room was nearly empty. All that remained was an old, wooden desk and a disheveled bed. Soon nothing would be there at all.

Naminé squeezed her eyes shut and tightened her grasp on her pillow to prevent tears escaping. She didn't want to leave. Why did she have to go? Why couldn't she attend the university here?

She knew what her parents' reaction would be—"don't throw away your future" and "you're too intelligent to go to that rat hole." Well, it may be a rat hole, but at least it was a familiar, love-filled rat hole.

Naminé's bedroom door creaked open the tiniest bit. The blonde girl looked up to see a small eye peeking at her.

"Naminee?" The obvious mispronunciation of her name was instantly recognizable. Naminé sat up and looked at her second youngest sibling, Cid. He was usually quite a cranky kid, but with Naminé leaving tomorrow, a sort of mutual feeling of depression fell over the household.

"What is it, Cid?" She hadn't meant for it to come out snappishly, but oh well. She hid her face in her pillow, trying to make the little boy disappear.

"Are you sad?"

The question sent a jolt down Naminé's spine. She sat up and looked at Cid. His arms were crossed, and he was looking at her as if he understood, and, in her moment of weakness, Naminé believed him. She patted the space beside her on her mattress, and Cid eagerly climbed up beside her.

"Yeah, very."

"Why?" Cid's narrow eyes tried to achieve an innocent look.

"Because…" Naminé sighed as she tried to think of a suitable explanation. "Because there are some things I'm going to miss in this old place."

"Like me?" Cid asked hopefully.

"Yeah, like you," she giggled, poking him in the stomach.

"Damn straight," the boy remarked, hammering his chest with his little fist proudly. Cid was quite the potty mouth even at his age. Kind of a scary thought.

Suddenly Cid frowned. His eyebrows knit together in thought.

"What about…_him_?" he asked, spitting out the last word like it was poison.

"'Him'?" repeated Naminé in confusion.

"You know…that blond boy," Cid described—not elaborately, but enough to get the point across.

"Roxas?" Naminé guessed.

"Yeah, that bastard," Cid agreed.

"Roxas isn't…!" Naminé came _this_ close to raising her voice, but quickly caught herself as she noticed Cid's knowing look.

"Is he your boyfriend or somethin'?" the snotty little boy asked.

"N-No! N-None of your business!" It was becoming quite apparent to Naminé that her little brother was returning to his usual self. "Get out of my room, you!"

Cid nodded and jumped off the bed, marching over to the door. But before he really left, he turned for a finishing word.

"You'd be better off to forget about 'im," he stated. "By the looks of 'im, he's a bouncer."

"What kind of demon child _are_ you?!" Naminé cried defensively. "And where did you learn all these words?!"

Cid clacked his tongue disapprovingly and left. Naminé was pretty sure she lived in the house of the devil.

**xXx**

"Well, Naminé, today's the big day."

The predestined Twilight University student entered the kitchen with her stowed away belongings, looking at her large family eating breakfast. She felt tired and beaten. She'd had a restless night. She and Roxas's kiss haunted her more than excited her. Her life was so complicated.

"Yup," she said lackadaisically, collapsing at the table.

"You could show a little more enthusiasm there, sweetie," her father, Mr. Clark, remarked, looking at his daughter over his round specs.

"I don't want to leave," Naminé said flatly. "It's too early. It's stupid. School hasn't even started yet."

"Now, Naminé," Mrs. Clark stated, looking at her warningly, "we've already told you this is for the best. After all, getting used to a new place is difficult. You have to settle in and get everything…"

"NO!" The sudden enormity of Naminé's voice caused everyone to nearly choke on what they were eating. Everyone looked absolutely flabbergasted at Naminé's newfound voice. Perhaps she had overdone it. But it was too late to think it over. Naminé's pale blue eyes filled with tears. She looked at her parents for any sign of remorse. "I…I don't need this. I…am not going to leave everything behind…just so you don't have to look after me anymore."

Her parents were gaping at her, mouths hanging open in a comical "o" shape.

"I'll do anything…you want," Naminé hiccupped through her now rapidly spilling tears. "I'll cook…and clean…and baby sit…but please…just for one summer…let me stay. Two and a half months with my friends…that's all I ask. Then I'll…I'll leave. I promise."

Naminé wiped her tears with her sleeve as the whole room fell into a deathly silence. She wanted people to understand her. She couldn't bear leaving right now. She just…needed her family, her friends, her…Roxas.

"Don't you think you've had enough time with them already?"

The cold words sliced through the atmosphere like a knife. Naminé looked up to meet her mother's cold eyes. They showed no signs of sympathy for her at all. They could've been made out of ice for all Naminé knew.

"Honestly, Naminé," Mrs. Clark continued, reaching for the butter for her toast as if it was a totally normal morning. "You are being so immature. I expected more of you. Your friends aren't going to wither away without you. Giving up your future for a stupid thing like that…I thought I'd raised you better."

"Dear…" Mr. Clark reached out a cautious hand to stop his wife from saying anything else venomous. But Mrs. Clark didn't get the hint.

"I mean, your friends would _want_ this for you. You are going to an elite university and are indeed set for a stellar career. Besides, they all have their own lives. Don't you think they'd think you're a bit _clingy_ for doing such disgraceful things? Wouldn't they be embarrassed? Would they even want you around? Perhaps your own selfish wishes are preventing you from considering these things, Naminé."

Naminé was frozen with shock. Her mother…had she…? She'd always been more partial to the young ones, but to say all this right to her daughter's face? She couldn't believe it!

"Fine!" she yelled in a flurry of rage and tears. "I'll go! I have no idea what possessed me to want to stay in this _hellhole_ anyway!"

Naminé turned on her heels and raced out of the kitchen, dragging her belongings behind her. She could hear cries of _"Naminee" _and _"Nam-Nam" _and all the other attempted exclamations of her name, but she ignored them. She hated this place. She hated her uncaring parents. She hated her ignorant siblings. And she _hated_—oh, how she _despised_—how idiotic she had been, being carelessly led on her whole life just to be dumped in this terrific finale.

**xXx**

When Naminé arrived at the airport—Twilight Town _was_ rather far away—her puffy eyes had returned to normal. Even though she'd constantly ache for her friends, this was a chance for a new beginning. No parents. No catfights. It would be her and her alone, fighting for a life of peace and happiness.

Since she was so early she sat down in the little airport café for a snack, and just then she noticed three particular people making their way towards her. Naminé stood up so fast the chair almost fell over.

"Morning, Nammy," Selphie greeted, pulling up a chair beside hers. Even though the chestnut-haired girl was trying to sound cheerful, it wasn't working very well. She was depressed…just like the others, it seemed.

Olette opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but quickly changed her mind and just silently took the other seat beside Naminé. Roxas frowned at her and disdainfully took a seat opposite his blonde beloved.

"Hi," he muttered sullenly, then immediately started to examine the napkin holder.

A silence followed. Finally Naminé managed to bravely put on a happy face.

"I'm glad you guys came," she said with a smile. "It was getting kind of lonely here."

"Oh, yeah," Olette remarked, looking up in realization. "Where's your family? Aren't they waiting with you?"

Another long silence, but this time everyone was watching her carefully. Naminé looked down at her intertwined fingers on her lap.

"Um…I didn't exactly…have a happy departure," she admitted.

Roxas's face hardened.

"What do you mean?" he asked, showing a don't-mess-with-me face. Perhaps many don't know this, but Roxas's don't-mess-with-me face is tremendously scary and can convince just about anyone to tell the truth. Naminé shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she began to explain.

**xXx**

Naminé stood in line, waiting to board the aircraft. Her three closest friends in the entire universe stood very close to her, but in such a way that showed they weren't going to get on the plane. Now that Naminé was actually leaving, she felt herself tearing up again. As she handed her ticket and her passport to the lady at the front, Selphie hugged—more like tackled—her from behind. Naminé patted her arm as the hyper eighteen-year-old burst into tears.

"I'll miss you, NNNaaaaammmyyy!" she wailed, breaking the natural serious atmosphere of the airport.

"I'll miss you too, Selphie," Naminé sighed, comforting the girl until she released her.

Olette waited until the chaos was through before sharing a hug with her blonde best friend. When they broke apart the brunette seemed a little teary-eyed herself. No words were exchanged between them but it was pretty obvious that they both had the same thing to say.

Last but most certainly not least was Roxas. He looked up at the ceiling in an awkward silence. Naminé waited for as long as she could until the passport lady tapped her impatiently on the shoulder and told her that other people were waiting in line. Naminé sighed and waved farewell, not able to speak. Taking her first steps toward the entrance to the plane were possibly the scariest of her life. Or, at least, they would've been, if Roxas hadn't grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to kiss her, long and hard, allowing a terminal full of people, including Selphie and Olette, to see. Naminé, completely caught off guard, felt like a puppet without any strings when he let her go. She caught herself just as she was about to hit the floor. Selphie, meanwhile, looked like she was about to pass out. Olette looked a bit like Naminé's parents that morning—mouth in a perfect "o" shape, eyes as wide as saucers…the normal expression of horror.

"Why…you…I…" Naminé stuttered, looking at Roxas in surprise.

"See you, Naminé," Roxas remarked. "Have a nice flight."

This time Selphie really _did_ pass out. Olette managed to catch her, but her expression remained the same. Naminé didn't know what to say, she took a few steps backward and waved goodbye again before walking into the bridge. She spared one last look at her best friends before disappearing down the long walkway.

**Okay, so the ending was corny. You should be happy I updated at all. I mean, why did I get so many reviews for the last chapter? Are you all wacko? I mean, I made Riku sound like a…emo. And Sora and Kairi were…just…plain…aahhh! But thanks anyway. It's not like I'm complaining, even though it sounds like that. Keep reading, 'cause…uh…I'm bored. **

**Now, I'm sure you all have noticed my horrible use of ages. Like, for example, it's very unlikely that they're all still eighteen. I mean, they'd probably have had their birthdays before summer. Or at least some of them would. But I'm keeping it simple. I'm not going to decide their birthdays…or their blood types at that.**

**Also, I started playing Final Fantasy VIII and I love it and I love Squall/Leon and I love Rinoa and I LOVE Seifer! Goodness gracious, how much I love Seifer! He is the best character known to man. Even though he betrayed his friends and went over to the dark side, I love him anyway. I am definitely going to use him more in my stories.**

**So, how were all your holidays? **

**Read and review! **

**Happy holidays!**


	3. Tifa's

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts (II), Riku, Naminé, Sora, etc.**

**Author's Note: I am home sick with a stomach bug. My mom has to work so I am to be left alone until after five. I grappled onto this scant time to give you a new chapter! I hope you like it. Personally I enjoyed writing it. **

**Warning: Sora x Kairi suggestions. **

**Quick Author Babble: Oh, how can I live without my daily dose of drama?**

Chapter 3: Tifa's

Maybe it was fate when, a week before Naminé's disastrous departure, Riku decided he would leave for Twilight University early. His reasoning was, of course, that he had no reason to stay. He would just be getting in everyone's way with his downcast attitude. Besides, it was becoming awkward around Sora and Kairi, especially with their new lovey-dovey atmosphere. It was time to leave. Any moron could tell.

"Riku, are you _sure_?" Sora asked for the umpteenth time that day, walking beside his best friend since grade school.

"Yes, Sora, I'm _sure_," Riku repeated mockingly, taking on Sora's high-pitched accent for insult.

Sora glared at him. There was a fine line between friendly teasing and downright seriousness, and it was becoming quite obvious to him which side Riku was on.

"It's just two months," he urged on, trying hard to ignore Riku's original comment. "You can last until then, can't you? We can spend more time together before you leave."

"Spend more time with me?" Riku snorted. "You're kidding, right? You and Kairi are in your world now. As soon as I leave you'll be on your own. Aren't you satisfied?"

"Satisfied?!" exclaimed Sora, finally stepping in front of the silver-haired boy to prevent him from walking any further. "If I was satisfied, would I be trying to stop you?! Don't you realize if you leave now we'll never be able to give you a proper goodbye?!"

"Saying goodbye isn't that difficult," Riku commented glaring at the skinnier boy. "For example…"

He grabbed Sora's collar, easily lifting him up off his feet before throwing him into the neighbor's bushes. It's amazing what working out at the gym all the time can do. Riku had been honing his muscles for a long time and it was worth it.

"Bye, Sora," he gave a discreet wave before walking away. Ah, well. At least it was something.

"Riku!" growled Sora as he sat up on the squashed shrub. He instantly continued to curse, throwing out all the swear words he had in his vocabulary at the stronger boy's back until he had nothing left. Riku was not surprised. Even though Sora was happy-go-lucky most of the time, he was still very competitive and didn't like losing, especially in strength, to his best friend.

**xXx**

Riku was sprawled on his untidy bed in the middle of the mess he called his room. He looked lazily up at the ceiling. Quite frankly, Riku was at the end of his rope…at the age of eighteen, no less. Perhaps he wasn't making the right decision. Maybe Sora was right.

Of course, Riku admitting Sora was right was the sign of the apocalypse. And if he stuck around Destiny Islands any longer, his head would explode and his brains would be all over the ceiling. Paints a pretty picture, doesn't it?

Destiny Islands was a cute little place. "An island paradise", they called it—warm weather, soft beaches, blue oceans, leafy palm trees, and home of the legendary paopu fruit. Riku had _loved_ this place when he was little. But times had changed. Riku was no longer a child. And his curiosity happened to surpass the dark, tiny crevices of the joined masses of land. He needed adventure. He needed a life.

So, what was the point of sticking around here? Might as well start packing and order a ticket to Twilight Town over the internet. Heaving himself over the side of the mattress to collide with a pile of comic books and some unidentified moldy thing, Riku heard the sound of his cell phone echo throughout the room. The ring tone was "I'm Walking on Sunshine." Very nostalgic. Kairi had set it to that a long time ago and it had been too bothersome to change it.

The silver-haired boy got onto his hands and knees and searched through his messy room. Had to be around there somewhere…

"Aha!" Riku exclaimed, finally locating it underneath his bed. He pushed the TALK button with somewhat of a triumph. "Hello?"

"Riku? Hi. It's me, Kairi."

Riku let out the tiniest sigh of relief. For a second there he thought it would be Sora, that annoying brat.

"Yeah?" urged Riku in a tone that was layered with impatience.

"Sora told me about your plans for Twilight Town," Kairi said slowly and cautiously, trying to avoid conflict. "Are you…?"

"_Yes, I'm sure!_" Riku snapped, dragging out every word. "I don't think you and Sora understand! There's nothing for me here! I need something better to do than follow you two around like a dog! I'm freaking _bored_ here, Kairi! Don't think I haven't thought it over! I have! I've evaluated and analyzed a million times and my conclusion always comes up the same! _I'm leaving!_"

There was a long silence. Finally, Kairi released a breath.

"I wasn't going to try to prevent you," she stated, her voice a little higher-pitched than usual. "I was just going to ask if you're planning to leave soon."

Riku released a long, cleansing breath before slapping a hand over his face. Argh, he was such an idiot sometimes…

"Ah, crap," he muttered, just loud enough for Kairi to hear him. "Sorry, Kairi. I'm just in a bad mood. It has nothing to do with you."

"I know Sora agitated you," Kairi continued, pitch returning to normal. "He does that sometimes. But you've got to give him a break. He's known you basically his whole life. It takes Sora awhile to deal with things."

There were a million things Riku could've said to that, but he didn't want to be sappy, especially with Kairi. That girl was too emotional.

"Sora's a moron," Riku stated bluntly, taking the safest route, "so I guess I'll cut him some slack. You know, before I leave."

"When _are_ you leaving, by the way?" Kairi asked, sounding out the question she had called to ask in the first place.

"Hopefully this Saturday," Riku responded, taking his original place on his bed once more. Staying on the floor was uncomfortable.

Kairi sucked in a sharp breath.

"That's soon."

"Yeah." Riku's voice obtained a softer tone. He was just slightly touched by Kairi's concern. "But I'll come back to visit. You know I will."

"Yeah, okay," she said, sounding a little more cheerful. "Of course, once you get more information, you've got to call me and Sora. No creeping out like a ghost, understood?"

Riku gave a grunt in reply. And just like that, Kairi was back to being irritating. Well, then. No point in prolonging this painful conversation.

"See ya, Kairi," Riku remarked, fighting the urge to hang up before they had exchanged proper goodbyes.

"Bye, Riku." END button. Quickly.

Riku tossed the phone into some unknown corner before covering his eyes with his arm and letting out a yell of aggravation. This place was so depressing.

He was getting out of here.

**xXx**

Riku's departure was the same as every other young adult male's—right before entering the terminal he turned around as Kairi gave him a deep and meaningful hug, then gave an awkward, pat-on-the-back hug to Sora before giving a final wave and telling Kairi to not get emotional. The only difference was that he had a big smile on his face when he had reached the plane. Not even a hint of sadness was apparent on his face. He was getting out of here.

Riku let out an excited hoot, scaring the old lady sitting beside him. She gave him a harsh scolding and then turned around muttering about "kids these days." Well, whatever. No sour old hag could bring _this_ silver-haired youth down. At least, not for today.

**xXx**

"Here's your apartment key, kid," muttered the man at the desk. His hair was in a blond buzz cut and his goatee came down sharply. His ear was pierced twice with two metal rings—an obvious attempt to try to make a middle-aged man look cool. Steely blue eyes gazed sharply at his newest resident.

Riku took the metal object from the man's hand, musing over how many times he'd called him "kid." Riku was not a "kid." He was very much an adult, and he had the ID to prove it.

"Thanks…" Riku peered at the name tag pinned to the man's shirt, "Leonard."

"It's Luxord," the man growled, grinding his teeth angrily and looking back down at his computer, a vein pulsing in his forehead. It was clear that the conversation was over.

Riku backed away slowly, making his way towards the elevator. _Someone_ had anger management problems. It didn't scare him as much damper his mood, though. It took quite a lot to scare him actually. Riku had too much muscle and height to be frightened of most things.

In fact, now that he was divulging into this, Riku had always had a rather imposing atmosphere around him. It wasn't his fault. The fact that he was gargantuan and brawny was mostly his parents'. The choice to highlight this fact with morose, colorless clothing and lengthening his already daunting silver hair was his own, however. Riku was not a violent or by any means bad guy. But, of course, most people tend to judge books by their covers, and his was nothing to write home about. So he became antisocial, which led to further depression. If it weren't for Sora he probably wouldn't have made it through his school life. Sora was popular because he was so friendly and pure. Not particularly good-looking, Riku felt the need to add, but an all-around cheerful kid. He was the only one who talked—or attempted to talk, anyway—to Riku. Needless to say the two became best friends. An odd pair, no doubt, but it _did_ last all those years.

Riku's train of thought was interrupted by the doors of the elevator opening. He blinked a few times to get back to reality before proceeding into the hallway. The metal clanked shut behind him and continued on to some other person in need of transportation. Riku looked around the hallway. Barren and completely silent. The carpet was a disgusting shade of red while the walls were a boring cream. Flower-shaped lights perched between every two doors, shining light upon the desolate area.

Riku passed identical door after identical door. The hallway smelled faintly of wet paint. No matter how dull the scene was, with each step he had mounting excitement. He was going to be seeing the place he'd be living in for who knows how long! It would be _his_. Officially.

Finally reaching a door that seemed to stand out from the rest—when actually, in truth, it was exactly like all the others—he came to a halt. The brass numbers read 7458. Riku realized there were a _lot_ of apartments, his not even close to being the last one. It was a rather astonishingly large building.

He slid the key into the small keyhole. It turned with a satisfying _clack_. Opening the door, he peered inside. It was almost pitch black. Flicking on the lights, his breath caught.

It was nothing totally shocking, really. The room he was standing in was carpeted and spacious. To the side he had a little kitchen, and by little I mean _little_, with room for only about one chair considering the fact that there was a huge counter covering the majority of it, along with a mini-fridge and a rusty oven. Just enough space for one person to sit. Comfy.

On the other side, there were two doors—one leading to the bedroom and the other the bathroom, Riku assumed.

There was only one catch—it was almost completely empty. Time to get some furniture in here.

**xXx**

Riku looked around his furnished apartment and smiled wearily. It was tiresome, but he'd done it. Using the money his parents had given him to buy necessities, he'd gotten a cheap couch, a sort of lumpy bed, and a chair for the kitchen counter. He'd even splurged and got a mini television set.

Riku wiped a bead sweat off his forehead before collapsing on the couch and grinning like he'd never grinned before. This chore made it all the more real. He was on his own now. Goodbye, Destiny Islands.

Speaking of his hometown—island—he wondered what Sora and Kairi were doing. Hopefully not something too disturbing. And his parents. His mom had been in tears when he'd left. She was still smiling widely though. Weird lady.

"Hmm…" Riku eyed the phone with slight curiosity. Should he? His phone bill would be expensive. But on the other hand, if he didn't keep in touch, what would Kairi do? He imagined the redhead shouting and whacking him over and over again for not calling. Then he imagined his mom joining in. He shivered. It was best to take the safe route and call…then right after get a job that pays well.

He stepped over to the old-fashioned cable phone. It was a dull brownish white. His hand reached for it. He hesitated. Then, finally he picked it up and dialed in a number. He paused and got the robotic voice telling him it was a long distance call and was he sure he wanted to continue? No, he was not sure. He pressed 1 anyway.

It rang precisely two and half times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" a male voice said.

"Sora, hi," Riku replied. The voice immediately took in a sharp breath.

"Riku! You're calling already?!" Sora sounded surprised. "Wow! This could be the sign of the apocalypse!"

"You're not funny." Riku glared threateningly at the wall as if Sora was standing right there.

"Kairi! It's Riku!" Sora's voice became farther away as he yelled across the hall.

"Seriously?" the far-off voice of the red-haired girl commented, sounding excited. "I'll be right there!"

Riku took the scant moment before Kairi arrived to have a short, boyish conversation with his best friend.

"Oh, so Kairi's at your house, huh?" Riku stated, raising an eyebrow. "You're not doing anything naughty, are you?"

"What?!" Riku could picture the brunet's bright red face. "You're an idiot! You jerk! Don't talk about things like that! I…b…ahh!"

"Hey, Sora, you okay?" Kairi's voice was closer now. Sora sputtered some more.

"You talk to him!" he shouted, a little louder than necessary.

The phone was now in Kairi's hand. Riku could tell because when she spoke her voice was very clear.

"Ah…okay," she remarked in a voice that suggested he was acting very strange. "Hey, Riku! How's it going?"

"Really good, actually," Riku replied casually. "I just furnished my apartment."

"Oh, really? Is it nice?"

"Well, it's small, but I think I can live with it." Riku could picture Kairi beaming.

"That's great!" she chirped.

"There's only been one snag," Riku continued. "This guy…I think he might be the landlord…he's a real crab. Kind of weird-looking. I think his name's…Leonard…Lukas…something like that."

Kairi giggled.

"Well, you can avoid him, right? It's nice to hear you're doing well, though. You should probably call your mother next. She's been fretting ever since you left."

"Maybe later," Riku remarked. "I'm going to go have a look around. This is my home now."

There was a sad sigh.

"Yes. I suppose it is."

Riku frowned at the depressed voice. He had to stop talking quickly so Sora could cheer her up.

"Ah…well…got to go," he stuttered nervously, then added mischievously, "Oh, and tell Sora good luck."

"Huh?" Kairi's voice was coated in confusion. Riku hung up quickly with a chuckle. His gaze stayed on the phone a few more seconds before he got up and walked out of his—oh, joy, it was _his_!—apartment.

**xXx**

Riku looked around the busy streets of Twilight Town. It was the same as when he had arrived—cars everywhere, flashing traffic lights, and people almost running others over as they made their way to wherever. Very different from Destiny Islands. In fact, it was so different from Riku's quiet island life that he had to blink a few times to accept the reality of it all.

He preferred it this way, he decided. No one paid any attention to him as they hurried by. He was concealed by the bustling crowds. No one looked at him with any deep thought. He was just one of many.

Riku walked down the sidewalk, looking at every store he passed. _It's a Shoe-In!_ shoe store, _We All Scream for Ice Cream_ ice cream parlor, _Trinkets 'n' Things_ jewelry store, etc. All very dull for city life.

As he was musing over his newfound boredom, Riku's stomach growled. Loudly. It actually managed to catch some people's attention. A lady pushing her baby in a carriage looked at him with disgust.

"How you doing?" babbled Riku nervously. "Nice baby you got there…Heh…"

The woman cocked an eyebrow before continuing on her way. Riku sighed and looked around. Place to eat…place to eat…wasn't there anywhere to eat around here?

Suddenly he saw it. It was a quaint, little pink diner, standing out amidst the large, glassy buildings surrounding it. It had a cheerful, yellow sign saying "Tifa's" in curly, red letters. Riku could smell it from where he was standing. It made his stomach churn with hunger.

It couldn't hurt to eat out once in awhile, he decided, and with that, he entered the small structure. The overwhelming scent of pancakes, sausages, eggs, toast, and everything else wonderful in the world wafted toward him. He loved this place already.

The inside was old-fashioned with yellow walls and old records hanging up on the walls. The seats were red leather and so colorful and retro it made one stop and say "wow." The floor was tiled cheerfully with bright blue and polished white. The counter was long and layered with red stools that let a person that was eating solo talk with the employees. Riku was beyond impressed. Who knew a cute little place like this would exist in the big city?

He walked up and sat on a stool, waiting for one of the waiters/waitresses to give him a menu. He got a good glimpse into the kitchen, where the cook, donned with an old-fashioned chef's hat, was hard at work cooking bacon, eggs, pancakes, and toast at the same time. Riku was so engrossed by this skill that he hardly noticed when a waitress approached him.

"Hey, kid," remarked an amused voice behind him, "you can check out our chef all you want _after_ you order something."

Riku felt very insulted and swung around to look at the cause of the voice. He didn't expect what he received. A tall woman in her early twenties with long, dark brown hair stood smirking at him, her brown eyes twinkling with mirth. She was clad in a pink and white striped apron, along with those funny hats waitresses wore in movies from the eighties. And she was _pretty_. God, she was absolutely radiant. She filled the whole diner with a happy glow. Riku shook his head to clear all compliments for her from his head. She _had_ just insulted him, after all.

"I was not 'checking him out'," Riku replied haughtily. "I was just surprised about how easily he managed to cook all those things at once. That's all."

The woman cocked her head.

"Is that so?" she remarked. "An odd one, then."

Riku was taken aback by this woman's attitude. Most people were scared of him, especially when he was telling them off. Obviously not this chick.

"I…I am not odd! I…uh…" he spluttered, at a loss for words. "Who are you, anyway?!"

"Little ol' me?" the woman replied, fanning herself with her tray and mockingly blushing. "Well…I happen to be Tifa Lockhart, owner of this humble abode."

Riku gawked at her. It wasn't possible!…Was it?

"You're kidding!" he exclaimed, slamming his hand down on the counter. "You can't be over twenty-five!"

"I'm not. Thanks for noticing." Tifa rested her elbows on the counter, putting her face in her hands and looking deeply into his cyan eyes. "Look, kid. It doesn't matter what age I am. I'm the owner of this diner. I can kick you out, so watch it."

Riku gritted his teeth. He despised being called "kid", and this was the second time Tifa had done it.

"Anyway, who are _you_?" she asked, standing upright again and looking at him. "Your face is unfamiliar to me."

"Riku Allen," he replied sullenly, avoiding looking at her directly in the eye. "I just moved here. I'm attending Twilight University in the fall."

"I see," she remarked, nodding. "Need a job?"

"Yes, actually," he answered, surprised. "Are you offering me one?"

"Yeah, why not?" Tifa said coolly. "It's nine fifty an hour. I hope that's good enough for you."

Riku sat up much straighter, excited.

"It's excellent! When do I start?"

Tifa shrugged.

"Whenever you want."

"Whenever I want?"

"Sure. If you feel like working come on over. I don't mind."

Riku shook his head, astonished. It was a rather sloppy way to run a business, and once again he found himself wondering how she had managed to become owner of the diner, but he was positively ecstatic.

"Thanks," he remarked gratefully.

"Yeah, yeah," Tifa remarked, waving her hand, bored. "Now are you going to order something or what?"

**A rather horrible ending, I know. But if I didn't stop it there it would keep going and going into infinity and beyond. Anyway, how did you enjoy my Tifa? Tifa, Tifa, Tifa! I love making Tifa sarcastic. She makes me smile. I also like making her seem picturesque. I always thought Tifa was extremely pretty. **

**But, as it happens, I managed to add Luxord in! Luxord is such a moron. His power sucks, he's ugly, and he tries too hard to look like a teenager. But somewhere, deep in my heart, I know his troubled soul makes me laugh. A Nobody who likes gambling. Luxord, you are forever mine. **

**Well, anyway, read and review! **

**Ciao! **


	4. How May I Help You?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts (II), Naminé, Riku, Roxas, etc. **

**Author's Note: It's that time of the week (month…year…) again! UPDATE TIME!!! It's the best time, really. And can you believe it? I actually have a chapter ready! Heh. Well. Enjoy! **

**Warning: OMG!!! TIFA!!!**

**Quick Author Babble: (examines fingernails) Huh? Oh, what? Author babble? **

Chapter 4: How May I Help You?

Naminé looked around her apartment. She had just furnished it, and it seemed eerily quiet. She wanted to go home. It had only been two hours and she already felt like committing suicide. She collapsed on the couch with a heavy sigh. Her gaze drifted over to the telephone. It sat perfectly still, not ringing or buzzing or…well, anything, for that matter. Her eyelids fluttered, nearly closing as she felt warm tears cloud her vision.

"Roxas, where are you…?" she sniffled, running a pale hand over her watery, pale blue orbs. Roxas hadn't called or written to her yet. So she had only been here for a few hours. So what? What kind of an excuse is that for making your girlfriend miserable?

At the mere thought of the world "girlfriend", a million butterflies took flight in her stomach. She sat up with a wide grin on her face. Astounding. Even when the blond boy wasn't there, he managed to make her feel better.

Unfortunately, it only took another look around the room to throw her into another state of melancholy. How aggravating. She needed to get some fresh air.

**xXx**

Naminé exited her apartment building to be welcomed by the noise of Twilight Town's busy city life. She stopped herself just outside the door and allowed her gaze to drift over each unfamiliar face. Even though Radiant Garden wasn't much slower-moving, there was something calmer about it. Maybe it was just the charming name.

No. There was something more than that. The close-knit people, the colorful flowers, the beautiful, cloudless sky…all what made Radiant Garden home to the blonde girl. The people fast-walking past her…they were all strangers to one another. No one said "hello" to anyone—they just kept going, ignoring the throngs of living beings pouring past them. What few trees there were looked pitiful—short and thin, with their bark falling into brown piles on the sidewalk, only to be stepped on by passers-by. Flowers wilted on balconies, abandoned by their careless owners. And the sky? Well, where to begin? It was cloudy and grey, and the air smelled funny due to pollution.

Naminé hid her face in her hands as she felt her eyes become watery. It was all so sad. She wanted to go home. She wiped a tear away and sighed. How had she ever come to the conclusion that going outside would make her feel better? She turned back around to go inside, but as she did so, something caught her eye—something _not_ tall or glossy or omitting black fumes. She pivoted to face it.

It was a diner. A quaint, small diner, at that. It reminded her of Radiant Garden with its cute little stores and cafes. She smiled and moved in its direction. At this point, she was willing to do anything to feel a little more welcome.

**xXx**

Naminé was awed by the diner's splendor. It was so colorful and comfy. It was filled with indescribable warmth. Her eyes unwillingly became watery. It reminded her of home. It reminded her of…Roxas.

She wiped away her unshed tears and shook her head. She was being childish. It was just a restaurant. And she was just hungry. She sat on a bright red stool and took a look at the daily features. Immediately, a beautiful woman with long, brown hair and rust-colored eyes sprang up, nearly knocking over poor, startled Naminé. The woman was wearing a funky waitress design from the eighties. She looked very stylish. Naminé stared at her with jealous admiration.

"Hello there!" the woman greeted cheerfully with a slight wave. "Welcome to Tifa's! I'm Tifa, and I'll be your server today…huh?"

The woman—Tifa, presumably—stopped and what seemed like examined the blonde. Naminé felt herself turn a rosy color. What a strange woman. Was she truly the owner of this diner?

"You're a pretty little thing, aren't you?" Tifa remarked, pushing back a lock of dark brown hair. The statement caused Naminé to shrink down into her seat. This person was scaring her more and more by the minute. "You don't seem too difficult. I think our new boy will like you." She scanned her over once more. "Yes, you'll be the perfect one for him to hone his customer socialization skills!"

"Oh…well…um…" Naminé stuttered, at a loss for words. For a moment, she was thrown out of her depression into mind-numbing confusion. Perhaps coming here hadn't been such a good idea…

"Just give me a sec." Tifa turned and cupped her hands around her mouth. She faced the "Employees Only" room and yelled at the top of her lungs, "RIKU!!! GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE!!!" Naminé froze with her mouth wide open. Where had all that noise come from? Tifa turned and smiled politely at her customer. "He'll be down in a minute."

Right at that moment, the "Employees Only" door burst open and a tall, formidable-looking boy entered behind the counter. He was muscular and had long, silver hair that covered ninety percent of his face. He was clad in dark clothing and his face was set in a deep frown. The atmosphere around him was unnerving. He seemed quite emo, actually. There was only one thing separating him from looking hardcore goth—his tanned skin. He looked like he had gotten much more than a few doses of sunlight in his time. It had caused his skin to turn a healthy beige. Naminé was so shocked by his appearance that she only just noticed that he was adorned in the same pink-and-white striped apron and hat just like Tifa's. It took even longer for her to realize that this was the new boy.

"Riku, this is your first customer," Tifa introduced, gesturing to Naminé. "You know what to do, I'm sure. I've gotta keep tabs on your progress, so get to work and show me that you're not just a lazy good-for-nothing."

The boy—Riku—just stared at Naminé. Well, she couldn't quite tell if he was staring at her, as his long bangs covered his eyes, but his body was angled in just the right way so she could assume. Tifa nudged him with her elbow.

"Cute, isn't she?" she stated. "I knew you'd like her. But that's no reason to creep her out, you know."

Riku turned to glare at his employer.

"Must your mouth always move faster than your head?" he snapped. His voice was cool and deep, but not quite as deep as Naminé had expected. He shoved the brunette's arm away from him. "And don't touch me."

"Is that any way to talk to your boss?" Tifa looked like she was in a state of shock. "Remember, I'm the one who's helping you pay for Twilight University! Don't make me regret it, you smart-mouthed brat!"

Naminé's eyes widened and she turned to gape at Riku. The silver-haired boy had not reacted at all to what Tifa was saying. He just stood there, still as a statue. Had Tifa just said…Twilight University?

"You're going to Twilight University?!" Naminé was so excited she jumped right off her stool. The boy did not actually reply, but the blonde could tell by the way he didn't argue that it was true. "What a coincidence! So am I!"

Riku looked temporarily taken aback. Unfortunately, a few seconds later, he was back to his original I-don't-care demeanor.

"That's…" He began to reply to her statement, but Tifa jumped in front of him, waving her arms energetically as she bounced on one foot—perhaps she was trying to do a terrible impression of a ballerina.

"Fantastic!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I can tell you two are going to hit it off real easy! This school year's going to be super fun, especially with your awesome Auntie Tifa!"

Riku rolled his eyes and pushed down the arm of the brunette that was blocking his view. He glared at the older woman.

"You're annoying," he stated bluntly, "and I can guarantee that neither of us is related to you."

He snapped her arm back, almost causing Tifa to fall over. She regained her balance and stuck her tongue out at Riku before winking and giving a curt wave to Naminé and disappearing. Naminé put her hand over her mouth and giggled silently. This was too weird. But, in the pit of her stomach, she knew she liked it. How long had it been since she could laugh freely?

"So," Riku said, disrupting Naminé's chuckling, "I'm Riku and I'll be your server today. How may I help you?"

Naminé smiled at him despite of his appearance. She had never been one to judge a book by its cover.

"I'll just have eggs and bacon with a side of toast please," she requested. The waiter nodded. He scribbled it down on a little notebook in his apron pocket and ripped off the page, handing it to the chef through the little window in the wall leading to the kitchen. He leaned against the counter with a sigh.

"Now what?" he muttered to himself, apparently bored with the task. He glanced at Naminé over his shoulder. "Don't you want anything to drink or something?"

"Nope, I'm fine," Naminé said in response, sounding more cheerful than she had intended.

"Well, whatever then," the silver-haired boy grumbled. "Your loss."

An awkward silence drifted between the two young adults. Naminé was staring at Riku's back intensely, as she had nothing else to do. Riku was watching the clock, wondering when he could go home. Usually, Naminé had a very even temper, but with all the moving and having no contact with any of her friends, let alone getting into a horrendous fight with her mom, her patience was pretty much finished. And this boy—waiter…emo…whatever—was giving her nothing but the cold shoulder! Well, she certainly wasn't going to take this from a stranger! She jabbed her index finger at Riku's back. He barely had the decency to give her a side glance.

"Hey, you!" she snapped, glaring at him. "Don't you know it's rude to ignore a customer?" The waiter whipped around and grabbed her finger.

"Don't you know it's rude to poke strangers in the back?" he said in retort, keeping a hard grip on the offensive body part.

"Well, I wouldn't have had to poke you if you had just been talking to me in the first place!" Naminé cried, yanking her arm back, causing her finger to slip out of the boy's fist.

"Listen, princess," Riku remarked, sounding exasperated, "I don't know what your problem is, but if you think I'd give a crap over you life story, your boyfriend, your desired profession or whatever else you think is important, then you're simply naïve."

Naminé was left speechless as he turned around again and continued watching the clock. That was when she began fuming. This…this…insensitive clod! She was going to show him!

"Fine," she stated haughtily, "if you don't want _me_ to talk, then why don't you tell me something about yourself? Of course, if there's anything more to you than what you just showed me, which I'm beginning to doubt."

Riku gave a little snort and crossed his arms, but didn't turn around.

"You're a lot more interesting than you let on." He spoke in a slightly admiring tone. "You look like one of those Little Miss Perfect girls, but you're actually really short-tempered."

"I…I am not!" Naminé argued, pink creeping its way onto her cheeks. "I'm just a little frustrated, is all. I hate moving."

Which was really only half the story. But this guy didn't need to know that.

"So I assume we're going to be talking about you now?" Riku said with a smirk. "What happened to 'telling you something about myself'?" He said it in a light, mocking tone. The jerk.

"Well, go ahead then! Spit it out if you're going to be like that!" Naminé snapped, further irritated.

"Well, I guess there's not much to tell." The boy sighed with a shrug. "I moved here from Destiny Islands, which is hell by the way." Destiny Islands? That sunny, tropical paradise? No wonder he was so tanned. "I'm apparently moderately intelligent since I managed to be accepted to Twilight University." Funny. He didn't seem to show it. "I have…had…a best friend named Sora, who's a complete moron." This guy has friends? Huh. "And he has a girlfriend who makes me want to shoot myself in the head." Well, no shocker there. "That enough for you?" He actually turned to face her this time, and for a brief moment his long bangs swung away from his face to reveal two very cyan eyes that didn't look like they belonged to him. They showed too much emotion, and there was no way this yeti could care about anything.

Naminé swallowed. What was she thinking? She sounded so heartless when she said that. Even if he made her want to pull her hair out, it didn't give her the right to call him a yeti or jump to conclusions about what he felt. She was really losing herself to her depression. She looked down at the shiny, black counter top and met her own reflection's eyes. They stared blankly back at her, cold and lifeless. Her own appearance was so disheartening; she wondered how these people she'd never met before could talk to her so normally. Even while surrounded by delicious smells and hearty people, Naminé felt tired and so, so lonely. She allowed her head to sink into the crevice between her arms and she began wishing that they had been Roxas's—oh, Roxas, he was always so warm and wonderful. She missed him far too much than her frail heart could stand. She just wanted to go home. That's all she ever wanted.

It took her a moment to realize that Riku had crouched down so that their heads were both at equal height. She turned to look at him, too sad to be surprised by his unusual actions. She found herself staring into the two, gentle eyes that had caught her off guard earlier. But this time she wasn't going to fight to believe that they truly belonged to this gothic-looking boy, but instead be welcomed by them.

"Sorry," she mumbled, her voice barely a whisper, "for yelling at you earlier."

Riku looked like was about to smirk, but quickly caught himself.

"S'okay," he grunted in reply. "It was kind of amusing, actually." Naminé gave a weak giggle before releasing a long sigh. He tilted his head a little. "You want to talk now?"

**xXx**

Naminé looked down at her empty platter and patted her full stomach. Ooh…she had eaten too much. But it was so good! Who could possibly resist? She leaned back as far as she dared on her stool and let out a satisfied sigh. Riku collected her plate and dirty cutlery, looking humored.

"Wow," he said in disbelief when he returned. "For being so tiny, you eat like a cow."

"Gee, thanks," Naminé remarked sarcastically, sticking out her tongue as if she were hurt. "Every girl wants to hear that from a guy."

Riku grinned. For such a formidable character, he really did have a nice smile. It was quite surprising.

"Well, continue where you left off," Riku ordered, leaning against the wall and looking at her.

"Oh! Yes…Where did I leave off again?" Naminé questioned. Riku smirked.

"Your dysfunctional mother, I believe." He made it sound funnier than it actually was.

"Oh, yeah." Naminé remembered now. She got into storytelling mode. "So, my mother told me she thought I'd had enough time with me friends already…so…I…got really mad. My father tried to help, but it was too late. I loved Roxas. I still do. And I wanted to stay with my friends forever, and I knew they felt the same way, despite what she said! So I stormed out of that horrible place without saying goodbye to anyone. I feel sort of guilty about it now, but…" She felt her eyes become glassy. She looked down at her lap so Riku wouldn't notice. She felt so stupid when she became emotional like this. "How could she have said such things? What did I do to make her act like that? I don't understand…"

Riku was silent. Naminé could understand why. What could someone say to that? There was nothing anyone could do for her besides her mother when it came to this problem.

"She probably…just didn't want you to hurt your future by staying." He spoke suddenly, startling the blonde. "Sure, she could've said it a million times better, but you still have to consider her intentions."

"I…er…how…?" Naminé stuttered, bewildered by the sudden change of attitude.

"My mother would do the exact same thing, believe me," Riku sighed, rolling his eyes, "except she would be a _lot_ more embarrassing."

Naminé giggled despite of herself. She couldn't help it. This waiter wasn't anything like she had expected. Riku frowned as his face became a shade redder.

"Hey, what are you laughing at?" he snapped, crossing his arms. "So my mother's a ditz. That doesn't make me any less capable to kill you."

"Oh, don't try to be emo after you had a silly conversation like that with me," Naminé remarked, leaning her head against her palms as she smiled at him. "Every moment you spend with me, the less scary you seem."

"I'm not surprised," Riku snorted. "Spending time with Little Miss Sunshine does nothing for my reputation."

Naminé pulled back and pouted, sticking her lip out as far as she could get it.

"You're mean, Riku," she remarked, fake sniffling. "That's what you are. A great, big meanie."

Riku looked at her through the corner of his eye as he poured a cup of coffee for a furious customer that had been ignored by the other servers. Irritation was apparent on his face.

"Hey, what's the matter with you?" Naminé asked when the silver-haired boy had returned from serving the customer.

"Nothing," he replied sullenly, carefully avoiding her eyes. "You just remind me of someone."

Naminé peered curiously up at the towering male. Okay, yes, she had always been taught not to pry, but, as Selphie would say, who could resist?

"Who?" she asked, leaning against the counter as far as it would let her. "A secret girlfriend, perhaps? A crush from the past?" She couldn't help but get a little excited. It reminded her of when she, Olette, and Selphie would all sleepover at each other's houses and whisper about the boys in their class, who liked who, the whole enchilada.

Riku slammed the counter with alarming force. The other customers looked up. Tifa glared at him and signaled him to cut it out, then quickly returned to her customer with a sunny apology. He ignored his employer coolly before turning to the blonde.

"No, nothing like that," he snapped, a vein threatening to bulge in his forehead. "Will you stop trying to get gossip out of me? As you can plainly see, I'm not one of your friends from Girl Guides."

Ouch. That Girl Guide thing actually hurt. Naminé didn't look _that_ preppy…did she? She frowned at him, but quickly erased it from memory. It was rapidly becoming clear to her that Riku was a flash-of-frustration kind of guy, and tolerance was all you needed to converse with him.

Suddenly a thought occurred to her. It was one of those thoughts that sits in your head for a long while and pops out at the oddest times, as if suddenly like a firework going off. She turned to him, pale eyes wide with possibility.

"Could it be?" she wondered aloud, causing Riku to temporarily glance at her. "Could it be that…I remind you of your best friend's girlfriend?"

Bone-chilling silence. Naminé felt like ice cubes had slid down her spine. Riku was staring at her, and his eyes no longer seemed gentle.

"How did you remember that?" he finally said with an exasperated sigh, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Oh my gosh!" the blonde girl cried, suddenly breaking free of the quiet. "I do! I _do_ remind you of her! So what's she like? Huh?"

"She's annoying," Riku remarked, handing extra napkins to a waitress for a chocolate milkshake spill before turning to look at her, "like you."

"That can't be the only reason," Naminé stated, carefully dodging the insult, "I mean…" Suddenly her eyes caught sight of the bright red clock on the wall. It was nearly five o'clock. So late! How long had she been here? She stood up quickly and looked at Riku. "Never mind. You can tell me tomorrow. And about everything else too. I just blabbed on for hours. It's your turn. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some grocery shopping to do."

She left hurriedly, hardly giving Riku time to muster up a "bye." She walked down the streets, a cheerful smile on her face. Somehow she felt better—more hopeful even. If she couldn't come back home, then she'd just have to make a second home here.

And that was that.

**Hello, readers! I'm sure you've noticed this story is moving rather slowly. In fact, most of you probably don't even know what the plot is. Heck, **_**I**_** don't know what the plot is! All I know is that it has to do with Riku, Naminé, Roxas, and a whole lot of chocolate. **

**The chocolate's for me, just so you know. **

**By the way, Roxas, though decidedly cute in chapter two, is seriously getting on my nerves. I mean, JEEZ. I haven't been able to get over it. I wish I could just go back and scratch out everything. I wish Roxas could just be the shy, awkward individual that I know and love. **

**Anyway…**

**Read and review!**

**Alas, 'tis the end. **


	5. Dating? What's That?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts (II), Riku, Naminé, Tifa, etc.**

**Author's Note: Hello again! Remember me? I'm the person who hasn't updated in forever! I'm going on a trip to Washington D.C. tomorrow with my class, so I've decided you at least deserve **_**one**_** update before I depart. So anyway, enjoy, and YOU'D BETTER HAVE LEFT A TON OF REVIEWS BY THE TIME I GET BACK!!!**

**Warning: An affair? Maybe? Well, I'm not too educated on these things…**

**Quick Author Babble: Don't expect me to update soon after this!**

Chapter 5: Dating? What's That?

"What's your favourite color?"

"Black."

"How do you like your coffee?"

"Black."

"How would you describe your personality?"

"Black."

Naminé slammed her mug down, glaring at the silver-haired boy smiling smugly in front of her.

"_Riku!_" she whined, her voice going too high-pitched for Riku to withstand. He winced as the irritating sound reached his ears. "You're not taking this seriously! Do you want me to be your friend or not?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" the waiter replied, raising his eyebrows skeptically. Naminé filled her cheeks with air so that she looked like an angry balloon. Riku laughed as he turned around to fill the coffee pot. She was so easy to tease.

"You're mean!" Naminé yelled, hammering her fists against the shiny, black countertop. "Mean, mean, mean!"

"And you're loud," Riku remarked coolly. "Much louder than I expected, anyway." It was true. Naminé looked like a sweet, innocent, quiet girl at first glance. Of course, first glances had the tendency to be horribly wrong...

At these words, the blonde's face turned an embarrassed shade of pink. She put a hand over her mouth as if she was in deep thought, her baby blue eyes wide as she seemed to consider everything.

"You're right," she said slowly, registering it like a slow computer, "I've never been this loud with anyone before..."

Riku gave her one, quick, confused glance before chuckling.

"Well, I feel special," he stated sarcastically. "I'm sure all your friends must be so jealous of me."

Naminé was still completely out of it. Her eyelids slowly lowered as if she was suddenly feeling depressed.

"Friends..." She breathed out the word as if it was something sacred. Riku was starting to get really concerned now. He leaned against the counter so that he was looking right into her eyes.

"Naminé? You okay?" he asked carefully. When he got no response, he waved a hand in front of her face, trying to catch her attention. The girl looked up, dazed. Even though she was looking at him now, she still seemed distant.

"Roxas still hasn't called me," she said, her voice suddenly quiet. The statement caused the silver-haired boy to feel a pang of sympathy. Even though Naminé wasn't crying, it had the same atmosphere as if she was. He reached out a hand and awkwardly patted her on the shoulder.

"D-Don't worry about it," he stuttered, for once not having a snappy comeback. "He'll call for sure. There must be a reason behind it..."

The blonde girl sniffled. Riku could tell tears were about to start flowing if he didn't do something fast. Oh, he couldn't take crying! It gave him a headache and it was so pointless and awkward, let alone that it made him feel nauseatingly guilty. He opened the freezer door and quietly started working away as Naminé hid her face in her hands, biting her trembling lip as she tried to suppress her feelings.

"I...R-Rox...R-Rik..." She appeared to be trying to make full sentences, but it wasn't working too well. Her voice was cracking and her voice sounded funny. She was right on the brink of bursting into tears before Riku shoved a bowl of ice cream under her nose. Her wide, blue eyes looked down at it in surprise before looking back up at Riku. Her eyes were teary and already turning red. It made Riku's stomach churn.

"Consider it on the house," he said, his tongue pronouncing the last three words rather awkwardly. He wasn't quite used to diner terms yet.

"Thank you," she croaked gratefully, and she started working on the ice cream.

Riku breathed out in relief as a relaxed smile grew upon his face. He felt much better when she was eating happily than when she was on the verge of breaking into tears.

**xXx**

"Alright, Riku, you're done for the day."

Riku looked behind him to see Tifa sitting on the stool Naminé usually sat in. The blonde girl was long gone by this time, but it was still surprisingly early for Riku to be finished. He turned to look at his employer skeptically.

"You sure you don't need me?" he asked, not exactly thrilled to go back to an empty apartment, even though he still adored the fact that it was his. "I mean, the early dinner rush is bound to come in any time now..."

"Ah, who needs a good-for-nothing bum like you hanging around, anyway?" Tifa replied, waving her hand dismissively. "The customers are better off feeding themselves."

Riku bit his tongue so that he couldn't point out that Tifa was actually the most useless in serving. She mostly sat in the "Employees Only" room sipping coffee, only coming out for the regular customers that she likes.

"Whatever then," he said, rolling his eyes so that he could retaliate somewhat and removing his pink-and-white striped hat and apron. He hated the uniform so much, he once considering cutting it up with scissors. It was _way_ too feminine, especially for a guy like him. He looked like some emo, cross-dressing freak when he was at work—not exactly the impression you'd like to make on people.

"So, Riku," Tifa urged on, her voice almost sickeningly sweet as she leaned over the counter. The mischievous smile she was giving him made shivers go up his spine. No one should _ever_ see that unfortunate expression. He truly believed it was unhealthy. "That Naminé girl's been hanging around for awhile, huh?"

Riku considered the question. For the two weeks that he'd been working there, it was true that Naminé came in on a daily basis. But he was afraid that if he answered "yes", it would be like having a death wish. So instead he turned around and said nothing.

"Ah...don't go into mute mode on me," Tifa stated, jabbing him in the back with her index finger. "She's cute, isn't she?"

"Go away, you psychotic woman," Riku grumbled, not even willing to think about what his answer would be.

"Aw, c'mon! She comes in here everyday, probably for you, she's pretty, moderately intelligent, goes to the same school as you...what more do you want? A written invitation?" Tifa crossed her arms and leaned back in her stool as far as she could without falling off.

"So what if I do?" Riku snapped, glaring at her venomously, a little frightened to come out from behind the counter just in case Tifa attacked him. "Here, let me save you some time that you would otherwise waste thinking about it...Naminé and I are _never going to happen_. So get rid of this ridiculous idea of yours and leave me alone."

He cautiously put one foot outside the counter area. Immediately, Tifa was up and blocking his path. Riku considered pushing her out of the way, but that would be a little risky, her being his boss and all, despite how laidback she was.

"Why are you so stubborn?" she questioned, much to Riku's annoyance. "Can't you see how easy it would be to ask her out? Do you even realize how much happier you get when she's around? Because I do! The whole diner does!"

"For Pete's sake, Tifa! She has a boyfriend!" Riku yelled, his usually calm temper totally exploding. Tifa opened her mouth as if to argue, but then she fully registered his words.

"...Oh," was all she could manage.

"That's right, 'oh,'" he stated, a vein pulsing in his forehead. "Now will you get out of my way..._please_?" He stressed the word "please" so it wouldn't sound as polite as it should. Tifa didn't move, so he did, pushing past her in a wave of frustration. As he left the diner with a final slam, he took a moment to process all that had been said.

Since Riku had first met Naminé, she had come back to the diner everyday, usually for breakfast for coffee and a muffin. She would always sit on the middle stool where Riku usually worked, and they would share stories about their lives. Naminé normally did the talking, and Riku would do the listening—it had turned into a daily pattern that made life survivable for the both of them. Even though Riku was quite content with his life, Naminé made him realize that there was more to it than he had thought. He needed friends to be happy, and…well…it really brightened his day when he saw the blonde girl come through the glass doors.

But, for some reason, whenever she mentioned Roxas, his mood went spiralling downwards. Maybe it was because he was a really boring subject? I mean, Naminé was always incredibly repetitive with her remarks about Roxas—"he's so sweet", "he's the greatest", "I love him so much"…Really, he knew nothing about the guy's personality. Maybe he was just some playboy that little Nammy accidentally fell for.

Okay, so there was more than that. Maybe. But Riku wasn't _quite _ready to admit it yet. He liked the comfort of Naminé being there everyday, and he didn't want to ruin it by having ridiculous notions from his hormones.

**xXx**

_How did I get here?_

Riku stood there, looking at Naminé's apartment door presenting itself in front of him, the same thought running again and again through his head. He couldn't quite remember why he had walked here. He was concerned about Naminé—she had seemed depressed when she left, and that was the honest truth. But to go as far as coming to her home? Now that was just plain stalker-like.

He looked down at her address scribbled down a piece of paper. She'd given it to him a few days ago with a smile and an invitation to come over whenever he wanted. He still felt like he was crossing some sort of boundary though. He'd never been in a girl's apartment before…or in anybody's apartment besides his own, for that matter.

He didn't want to go in, but at the same time, he didn't want to leave. Besides, he had nothing else to do for the rest of the day. He didn't even know if she was inside yet, and he was already freaking out.

He breathed out and shook his shoulders from side to side, trying to relax. He was going to knock. He was really going to do it.

He lifted his fist nervously, clenching his teeth together. His hand trembled over the door.

He had to knock. He had to…

The door swung open and Naminé stuck her head out.

"Are you going to come in or not?" she asked impatiently.

"Wha…how did you know I was there?" Riku stuttered, dumbfounded. Naminé pointed to the little peering hole in the center of the door. Riku turned a light shade of red. "…Oh. I see."

Entering Naminé's apartment made Riku realize how deprived he truly was. While his apartment was small, grey, and smelled funny, Naminé's was the total opposite—she had a large, lovely space, her walls were painted a soothing lavender, and the whole room was filled with the scent of vanilla. She had large, clear windows, and the sunshine leaked through and made patches of light all over the carpeted floor. There were homemade paintings which looked like they were made by young children, and pictures everywhere of numerous family members, most ten years old or younger.

"Ha, so this is your many brothers and sisters, I'm supposing?" he said, looking at a picture of a little, blond boy with a smile that looked a bit like a grimace.

"Yeah," Naminé said, sitting down on the red leather couch. "Not one of them is missing. The one you're looking at is Cid."

Riku took another glance back at the picture before sitting down beside Naminé. There was still a sort of sadness surrounding her. He could tell. She was hunched over, concentrating on her entwined fingers.

"Hey…you okay?" he asked, bending over to lean on his knees so he could get a better look at her lowered face.

"How many weeks has it been since I came here?" she queried, still not looking up.

Riku shrugged.

"I don't know," he replied. "Two to three weeks?"

"Amazing," Naminé breathed. "To think, that phone hasn't ringed once in that whole span of time."

"Surely your family must've called," Riku protested, one eyebrow raising at the remark. She had far too big a family to not have received a single call.

"…They're busy," Naminé muttered, "but I suppose I can't blame them. They have too many kids to worry about the one that can take care of herself."

And most suddenly, tears started streaking down Naminé's cheeks. Riku froze in an upright position. He started fretting silently almost immediately. What should he do? What _could_ he do? Reaching out with a reluctant hand, he patted her on the back gently. So she obviously _wasn't_ okay. But he wasn't quite sure what to say, especially since he couldn't tell what the problem was.

He leaned in a little bit, focusing his gaze on her face. He noticed that, unlike most people, Naminé wasn't ugly when she cried—rather, she looked like some sort of sad painting of a still life. He sighed, but it wasn't a this-is-so-annoying sigh, but instead an I-feel-really-bad-for-you sigh. She looked up, her eyes frosted over with sparkly tears. He smiled comfortingly at her, hoping to give her at least a bit of emotional ease. His eyes willed her to speak, saying on their own, "Tell me everything."

"I-I wish…" she sniffled, her voice no higher than a whisper, "Roxas was here. I wish he would hug me and smile like he always does, and tell me everything will be all right…" She quieted and wiped at her eyes.

The words stung. They jabbed right into him, like tiny, little daggers. That darned Roxas! _He_ wasn't the one sitting right beside her, patting her on the back, was he? _He_ didn't serve her breakfast every morning! _He_ didn't visit her or call her or listen to her or anything! All he had to do was kiss her, and she was all his! Well, Riku was sick of it…officially!

"Naminé," he said as softly as he could, but his voice was firm, "forget about Roxas. He's not good enough for you. You deserve someone who'll listen and pay attention to you. Who knows what that jerk is off doing! It's his loss if he doesn't call you!"

Ooh, maybe he'd come off a little strong at the end. Judging by Naminé's face, he was guessing so.

"Forget about Roxas?" she repeated, her jaw slack. For a moment, there was silence, but then her eyes filled with tears again. "How can you say something like that so easily? How do you know he hasn't just been really busy and it slipped his mind…?"

"What kind of a guy would allow his girlfriend to slip his mind so easily?!" Riku yelled, jumping up. "Stop making excuses! The guy's a bad apple! You made a mistake!"

"You don't understand at all!" Naminé shrieked, now up on her feet as well.

"What don't I understand?!"

"Jeez, you are so stupid! Why can't you realize that I…?" She swallowed back her words. Riku already knew what they were, but he wanted her to confirm them.

"That you what?!" he egged on stubbornly.

"THAT I LOVE HIM!!!"

Silence fell. Now that the words were actually spoken, they echoed again and again in his ears, never stopping until he went completely insane. He fell back down on the couch, jaw slack, eyes opened wide. Naminé had her eyes squeezed shut tightly. When she opened one eye to look at him, Riku realized she was waiting for his response. With a heavy sigh, he allowed his muscles to relax and started breathing normally.

"Honestly, Naminé," he remarked seriously, "you should give other guys a chance. If he still doesn't call you…" He didn't finish his thought. He had the feeling he didn't have to. Naminé was looking down at the floor. "Well, anyway, I'll see you around."

He promptly got up and left, without saying another word.

**xXx**

The next day, Riku busied himself at Tifa's by cleaning the tables three times before the customers came in. Tifa watched him carefully from her spot behind the counter, but he refused to look at her. She was making him feel agitated for some reason.

"Will you stop staring at me?" he snapped, finally looking up from his polishing.

"How can I _not_ stare?" she asked, smirking. "This is the first time I've ever seen you do this much work, you lazy good-for-nothing."

"Correction," he remarked, boring holes through her with his severe glare, "_you're_ the one who never does this much work. And quit calling me a good-for-nothing!"

"Oh? So I can call you lazy then?" Tifa teased, laughing in a not-so-wonderful way. He frowned at her before picking up the cleaning supplies and heading to the back to put it away so that he could have some quiet. Unfortunately for him, Tifa followed. "Hey, you. What's the matter? You've been ignoring me all day."

Riku reached up to the top shelf with ease as he put away the cleaning supplies. If he was certain that he was one thing, it was tall. "And that's unusual, why?" he muttered, refusing to look at the curious woman behind him.

"Because! Ever since Blondie started coming to the diner everyday, you've been much more talkative," she said. Riku froze at the word "Blondie." He pretended he didn't know who she was talking about as he wrung out the towel in the miniature, metal sink. Tifa relinquished a sigh and sat down on one of the boxes of pickles. "Listen, Riku. I know I'm of the opposite sex and it might be awkward and everything, but if you have girl trouble, I'd really like it if you'd be able to talk to me. I won't judge, I swear."

Usually, in this sort of situation, Riku would've snorted in a "yeah, right" sort of manner and continued to ignore her, but her voice had sounded so sincere that he lost all of his attitude towards her. He turned to look at her, careful not to make any sudden movements, as he still felt like he was walking into a trap.

"I…" He paused, rethinking his words. "I made a big mistake."

Tifa cocked her head, urging him to continue.

"I'm listening," she said calmly.

"Naminé's boyfriend…Roxas…I hate him. And I have no doubt that Naminé knows it now." He didn't make any expression, just said everything in monotone. He didn't want to show Tifa he felt any kind of sadness or anger. It would prove he had a weakness of some sort.

"You fought?" she asked, encouraged to ask more questions now that Riku was obliging to her wishes.

"Kind of, I guess," he replied. "More like…disagreed."

"What did you say, exactly?" Tifa queried. Riku ran a hand through his long, silver hair. He wanted to pretend he didn't know, but it was all so vivid in his mind that he couldn't lie about it.

"I told her that she deserved better than Roxas, and that if he wasn't going to call her or visit her or anything, he wasn't worth her time. I said she should get someone better than that, who would treat her right and that if he continued to ignore her, that she should give other guys a chance." Now that he was saying it out loud, he felt ashamed of his actions. He really was an idiot at times… "I said all that, knowing that she was in love with him! And let me tell you, she took no effort to hide it! I knew what she was feeling, what she was going to say, but I kept pushing her, and I have no idea why! My feelings just kept coming out in torrents and I couldn't control it!"

"You yelled at her?"

He let his head fall. "…Yes."

There was a moment of silence, but then Tifa clapped him on the back. It made a rather loud sound, and Riku jumped at the sudden physical interaction.

"Riku, it may not seem like it now, but you did the right thing," she stated, smiling a little to make him feel better. "Letting her know about your feelings is the best course of action, and even though you insulted her boyfriend, you let her know that she needed a new man, let alone that she was special enough to get a good one! Sure, it could've been handled better, but you kids these days can't make any progress without a little drama! I say good for you!"

Riku looked at her, agape. Tifa just continued smiling, so he sighed and shook her arm off.

"I knew I shouldn't have taken advice from you, you crazy, old woman," he snapped, walking out of the supplies room. He could feel the heat from Tifa's anger.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD???" she shrieked, fuming. "I'M ONLY TWENTY-FIVE!!!"

"Keep saying things like 'you kids these days', and people will start thinking you're seventy," he remarked coolly. Tifa growled murderously from behind him.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU PLATINUM-HAIRED EMO!!!" she shouted. "JUST YOU WAIT 'TIL I'M FINISHED WITH YOU…!"

Riku laughed evilly. She was just too easy.

**xXx**

It was approximately eleven o'clock in the morning when the petite blonde girl snuck into the diner soundlessly. Riku saw her out of the corner of his eye, but he pretended not to notice and busied himself serving someone's pancake special. He ignored his heart pounding hard in his chest, trying to keep his breathing steady.

She sat down at her regular stool, watching him as he strode back towards the counter. When they saw each other, no words were exchanged. They just stared at each other, both of them too scared of the consequences of what they'd say. Finally, Riku breathed out and smiled as normally as he could.

"Morning," he greeted. "You're late today." Naminé looked down at the counter and did not reply. Riku took a moment to consider what to say next, but he decided that being like he always did was the best course of action. "Heh, you look tired. I'm guessing as much caffeine as humanly possible?"

Naminé did the opposite of what he wanted her to do—she frowned at him.

"Don't act like nothing happened," she said pointedly, staring at him. "We have to talk."

It sounded like they were about to break up or something, which couldn't even be possible because they were never actually _together_.

"We talked a lot and I guess we both know how we feel about everything…" Riku cringed at these words. He was pretty sure he knew exactly what she was insinuating. "Now I've come to ask you an important question."

Riku looked up with half-closed eyes, knowing it was going to be bad.

"What?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"Will you go out with me?"

"Okay, I underst---wait, what?" Riku felt pleasant surprise wash over him like nothing he had ever felt before. Naminé was smiling at him.

"Please, would you go out for dinner or a movie or something with me?" she questioned. "At least once?"

Riku's mouth was in a perfect "o" shape, and his tongue had turned into a useless chunk of wood. He looked at Naminé, her face filled with eagerness and promise, and he knew he couldn't refuse her, even if he wanted to.

"Sure…I mean, yeah, I'd love to!" he exclaimed, a little more excitedly than he'd planned. When he realized how stupid he'd just sounded, he turned bright red. Suddenly, he came to a realization. "Hey, wait a second. I thought you were in love with Roxas?"

She was quiet for awhile, and the suspense was killing him. Her eyelids lowered in a depressed state.

"…I am," she admitted quietly. He felt a painful pang right in his heart. "But…if he really forgot about me, like you said…then I want to try my best to forget about him, as well."

Riku considered these words, ignoring the big lump in his throat.

"So…" he said, trying to keep his voice steady, "you're using me as a distraction?"

Naminé looked at his hurt face and tears started to well up in her eyes. Her face turned bright red, and she stumbled off her stool.

"You're right, Riku," she sobbed, her voice cracking. "I don't know what I was thinking…I-I'm sorry. I'm the worst!"

She turned to leave, but almost by reflex, he grabbed her wrist with his strong hand. Her head whipped around.

"Don't be sorry," he stated. "I know you just want some comfort." He leaned in so close he could see the tiny sparkles in her eyes. "It's all right. I'll go out with you."

"But…but why?" she asked, sounding bewildered and guilty.

"You're my friend," he replied with a soft smile, "and I want to help you. Besides, there's no harm in one date. How about I swing by your apartment at seven tonight and you can choose whatever restaurant you want to eat at?"

Naminé wiped away her tears with a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Riku. You really make this place home to me." She touched his hand with such gentleness that it sent shivers up his spine.

Poor, sweet, innocent Naminé—she would never understand his own selfish reasons.

**xXx**

"…And then I was like, 'They told me this might happen'!"

Both Riku and Naminé burst out into laughter. That's right, they were on their date…at McDonald's. Not Riku's choice, mind you, but Naminé's, saying she was dying for a Big Mac. A tiny little thing like her, eating a Big Mac? Anyone else wouldn't have believed it, but Riku had seen her eat at Tifa's—trust me, it wasn't too hard to imagine.

Riku picked up a French fry and started to eat it. He didn't usually eat fatty, commercial foods like the kind that McDonald's served. After all, he'd been honing his muscles for many years—for what, no one knew, though he did join wrestling and football for a couple of years in high school—and fat-soaked burgers and fries were _not_ on the menu.

He'd tried the small burger he had ordered and he honestly couldn't see the attraction, but he kept his thoughts to himself and finished it so as to not be rude. The fries weren't half as bad. They were quite good, actually.

'Riku, stop taking my fries!" Naminé exclaimed, slapping his hand away. "If you really wanted them, you should've ordered your own!"

"Oh, you're so greedy, Nam," he muttered. "I'm the one who paid for what you're eating, you know!"

"Well, you're the one with the job," she replied, moving her box of fries away from him.

"And you're the one who, despite not having a job, keeps spending money on breakfast at a diner every morning," Riku retorted. The two glared at each other for a moment before bursting out into laughter.

"Ah…this is nice," Naminé remarked, leaning back in her seat and taking a sip of her Coke. "Spending time with you, eating junk food, and laughing our heads off at each other…how could it get any better?"

Riku smiled, getting a strong feeling of happiness that he'd never had before.

"Really?" he said, resting his head in his hand. "You _like_ hanging out with me?"

"Riku," she stated, putting down her drink so she could lean on the table and look him very seriously in the eyes, "if I didn't like being around you, would I have asked you on a date? Think logically."

"Well, this doesn't seem very logical to me," Riku commented, tapping his hand anxiously on the table. He really didn't want it to come to this, but he knew he couldn't see there any longer with his guilt eating away at him. "Naminé, did you…tell Roxas you were going out with me?"

Naminé quieted and her face fell. She took her straw and pulled it up and down again and again, each time making a squeaking noise as it rubbed against the plastic.

"No," she murmured. Riku looked at her with wide eyes, then looked down at the table.

"…Oh," was all he could manage. Naminé brushed her bangs out of her eyes, jumpy from her nervousness.

"I know I should've," she said, finally succumbing to Riku's silence. "I should've called him and told him everything…about why he didn't call me, about what he was doing, about _you_, but I was too scared…of what he would say, about everything that I knew all along…and I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"You don't have to make excuses," he sighed. "It's nothing serious, after all…just a dinner between friends."

He felt sad when he said it. It made it all the more real to him. He and Naminé were never going to happen, and he just had to face facts.

**xXx**

"Thanks, Riku! I had a lot of fun!"

Riku smiled at her, but his heart wasn't in it. Even though the date continued after the fateful conversation, he still couldn't get over the disappointment he was feeling. He looked up at Naminé's apartment building, which wasn't half as tall as his, but, too be fair, looked much homier.

"I guess this is where we separate," she said. "This was fun. We should do it again sometime."

"Yeah, sure," he mumbled absentmindedly, looking upward at the late evening sky, that was not red nor navy, right in the middle, a soothing purple. And then, something he totally wasn't expecting happened—Naminé jumped up and kissed him on the cheek.

A flood of warmth erupted through his body. He could feel himself getting light-headed. He felt like he was about to float off into the stars and never come back.

"Goodnight."

"…Bleh-heh," Riku spluttered, not capable of making real words yet. Naminé smiled before walking towards the building. He watched her disappear behind the door, listening to the sound of his heart thumping in his chest.

This was going to be quite the relationship.

**Well, yeah, so this is how this innocent love story turned into the scandal of the century. NAMINÉ CHEATS ON ROXAS WITH RIKU??? (Fans: OMG!!! This is awful!!!) (Fan**_**girls**_**: Yay!! Now Roxas can be with Axel!!) Ehm…yeah. Sorry if you start thinking the morals of this story are at an incredibly low level. I guess I understand. But, to be fair, Roxas **_**did**_** treat her like crap. Besides, how do you, the oblivious readers, know what I have in mind? For all you know, Roxas could have cheated on her **_**weeks**_** ago!! **

…**Oops. I just ruined the surprise, didn't I?**

**Oh well. Talk to you all later!**

**Read and review!**

**Just another update provided by your friendly neighbourhood perfect sorceress! **


	6. The Other One

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts (II), Riku, Naminé, Roxas, etc.**

**Author's Note: Can you believe it?! It's an actual update! I have neglected my writing duties for so long I can't even remember the last time I wrote something and bothered to finish it! Apparently the last time I updated this particular story was in the middle of June. **_**June**_**! Man, have I got a lot to make up for. This story's just been sitting in the corner collecting dust. **

**Warning: Umm…I…forget…what this story…is about…**

**Quick Author Babble: I want to write something else! **_**Something else!!! **_**I love this story, but there are some things that are more important. **

Chapter 6: The Other One

Naminé sighed happily as she shut the door behind her. She peeked through the window to watch Riku slowly lope away, his head turned upwards to admire at the night sky. What a great guy—sweet, considerate, polite, and even kind of good-looking, once you get past the untidy, long, silver hair and bleak clothing. But…Naminé squeezed her eyelids together until they started hurting. He still wasn't her Roxas—Roxas and his heavenly smile, feather soft hair, enchanting blue eyes, melodic voice, sweet sincerity…She could go on for hours just describing him and all the things she loved about him. But…he didn't love _her_ anymore. At least, that's what it felt like.

Naminé slid onto the couch, feeling tears well up in her eyes. The curled up and rubbed at them.

"Ugh, not this again…" she muttered, disgusted with herself. She wasn't going to let some _boy_ bring her down in any way! Even though that boy was Roxas—the most handsome, sweet, charming boy who she'd been crushing on for six years. She let out a sigh that was partly due to annoyance but at the same time her longing for the blond. She could still see his face perfectly. She closed her eyes and leaned back against one of the sofa pillows, feeling fatigue finally take over her. Oh, she felt drowsy…really drowsy. She yawned and the world around her completely blacked out.

**xXx**

"So…Naminé, you had fun at the picnic?" Naminé looked up at Riku, blinking. He had that smirk on his face that showed he knew that her mind had been elsewhere, and he'd found it amusing. Whoa, she must've totally blanked out there. Picnic? What picnic? And suddenly it all came to her in a big rush.

"Yeah, it was fun!" she chirped, but then she looked at Riku skeptically. "Don't tell me _you_ did as well, Mr. Pessimist?" Riku shrugged, and his smirk transformed into a laidback grin.

"I'll admit I had some level of enjoyment," he replied. Naminé smiled happily at this point. Riku had never been one to like something as corny as a picnic in the park. "But there was just one thing I couldn't stand."

"What?" Naminé asked, looking at him with curiosity. She felt a little piece of her hoping it was something romantic, like "We kept too far apart from each other" or "I just couldn't keep myself from looking into your eyes" or…

"The egg salad sandwiches you made. They tasted like crap." He said it bluntly, and his face was completely straight. Naminé felt a vein pulse in her forehead. She whacked him with her purse.

"Riku! You jerk!" But the anger passed to reveal the humour in the statement, and despite herself she started laughing. Riku gave her an are-you-retarded look, but soon he started snickering as well, and at the sudden lightness in the air around them, the two decided to continue the conversation.

"Now I understand why you eat at the diner all the time," he remarked. "You can't make anything edible at all!"

Naminé stuck out her lip in a pout. "That's not true. I can cook just fine. I can't help it if you have bad taste."

"Bad taste? Is that what you think? Then tell me, my darling Nammy, why, exactly, do you insist on wasting your money at Tifa's everyday?" His voice was dripping with sarcasm. Naminé bristled, feeling her cheeks burn.

"Ever consider there's someone I wanted to see every time I dropped in?" she snapped, taking steps ahead so he couldn't see how embarrassed she was. What had she just said? She didn't feel like she was in her right mind, as if she couldn't control what she was saying at all.

"Someone you wanted to…?" Riku began, sounding ready to mock her, until he realized what she was talking about. "…Oh." There was silence, neither looking at the other, shyly looking down at their shoes. Finally, Riku's voice filled the air again. "You know, Naminé, I really want to tell you that…"

There was a loud _vroom_, and suddenly, quite out of nowhere, a bright red motorcycle came zooming down the road. The two looked up, distracted for the moment. Naminé was especially absorbed in the motorcyclist's movements, for there was something most familiar about them, and it made her heart ache. She couldn't quite understand it until he pulled up beside them, and, removing his helmet, turned to look at Naminé.

Naminé's heart jumped, and suddenly she was in a flurry of tears, her face burning so hard she felt like she was on fire. Roxas was before her, beautiful golden hair, enchanting blue eyes, pearly white smile and all. She didn't even consider him owning and being able to ride a motorcycle, nor the bizarre coincidence that he was there. She was just too overwhelmed to care. She touched his face. It felt smooth, exactly like she remembered it.

"Naminé?" Riku's bewildered voice came from behind her, but she ignored him—at that moment she didn't want him to even be near her, and she was too caught up in her own emotions to feel guilty about it. Roxas smiled widely at her, but no words came out of his mouth. Naminé, quite uncharacteristically, felt she didn't need an apology, and she climbed on the back of the motorcycle, not considering the risk nor that she had not been invited to do so. Roxas didn't seem to mind, and he revved up the engine and off they went. At this moment, Naminé felt her head automatically turn to look back at Riku. His expression was completely unreadable, which was rare—heartbroken and sad. Naminé swallowed, and suddenly she felt a flood of sadness wash through her, and tears ran down her face.

"Riku!" she called out. "Roxas, stop! Stop this thing!" Roxas either didn't hear her or didn't want to, and kept driving on. She turned back and looked back at Riku, trying desperately to call out his name, but her voice was gone. As she watched Riku's face get farther and farther away, his mouth moved to form the words, "How could you?"'

And then there was a terrible ringing noise, filling her ears and distorting everything around her. She covered her ears and groaned.

**xXx**

_Ring, ring, ring!_

"Ugh!" Naminé woke up with a start, sweating profusely. A nightmare—it was all just her imagination, right? The ringing didn't stop though. She turned and, to her surprise, the phone was ringing. She held her breath. No, she couldn't get her hopes up just so they could be dashed away. She had to stay cool.

She reached over and realized her hand was trembling. She shakily picked up the phone and put it to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked nervously. Her heart was pounding ferociously in her chest.

"Hi, darling," a deep, male voice said, sounding sweet and familiar to her ears. "I just wanted to check in on how you're doing."

"Dad?" she said, just to make sure. She couldn't believe it. A call from home…_finally_!

"Yes, Nammy, it's me," he replied. "How's life working out for you?"

"Um…okay," Naminé lied, lowering her voice considerably. "I got an apartment…looking for a job…No luck so far…"

"Have you made any friends?" he asked curiously. Naminé found herself shrugging even though he couldn't see it.

"One," she answered, trying to sound cool even though she felt far from it. She knew by now Riku would be dubbed as more than that, considering they were "dating"—he wasn't her boyfriend, but he wasn't just a friend either…he was something in the middle. But she didn't know what. She thought back to her dream—the urge to run back to him had been immense at the time, but now it just felt silly. She knew she and Roxas were meant to be. Riku, to her, was like a child's temporary teddy bear while their favourite one was being fixed. But there was still a feeling of caring towards him that she couldn't quite explain, and she was suddenly worried that she had made a big mistake by going out with him.

"Well, that's good. Companionship is the key to success in life," he said in that usually life-lesson manner. She could practically see his tired eyes twinkle, a soft smile coming upon his lips.

"Maybe," she stated, not knowing if she agreed or not. "How's Mom?" She said it just to change the subject. She knew it wasn't a good idea, but it would take her mind off Riku for just a little while.

There was silence for a moment, and Naminé could tell her father was considering what to say. He must have thought it was more of a delicate situation than it actually was.

"Well…" he started awkwardly, "she hasn't spoken of you yet. But she's been a little down lately. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Yeah." Naminé felt dizzy for some reason, like it was all too much for her. She felt like she needed to lie down. Again.

"Say, Nam, there's someone else waiting to talk to you," her dad said quickly, to cover up the large spaces of silence that seemed to be in their conversation. "Let me put him on."

Naminé's heart fluttered at the thought of it being Roxas. Of course, that was very unlikely. I mean, if he'd wanted to speak to her, he would've called her from his house. It was probably one of her brothers—most likely Cid, who had been closest to her in the years they had lived in the same house.

"Hey, Naminé." The blonde girl felt she might die at the voice.

It was not Cid.

It was the total opposite.

"Roxas?!" Even though the thought of it being him had crossed her mind, this was still a total shock to her. She had already completely convinced herself otherwise. She was half-hoping for a small voice to come on the phone—one that was so young that it could've easily been a girl's as well.

"Naminé, thank God!" Roxas sounded relieved. He sounded like he _hadn't_ just ignored her for practically a month. He sounded like the boy she'd fallen in love with. And that hurt and healed her at the same time. "I've been trying to call you for forever!"

She didn't respond. She was too overwhelmed. She felt like her heart was going to pop right out of her chest, fall to the floor, and just roll around for a little while because it didn't know what to do. She sat down. She knew that she had to say something but she couldn't speak.

"Nam? You still there?" her boyfriend asked. Or, more like, her _so-called_ boyfriend, who never even thought of calling her before this. Real boyfriends wouldn't do that. _Real_ boyfriends call the moment their girlfriends get settled in their new home. They don't wait three weeks before calling. That's just cruel!

"I…Sorry…just…why didn't you call me?" Her voice cracked a little and she felt herself automatically reverting to her old self—her quiet, Twilight Town alter ego, that couldn't say much even when she wanted to. She clenched her fingers around the telephone, feeling that if she let go she would just get wiped from the universe itself.

"I'm so sorry," he said, and he sounded truly apologetic, his tone coated in regret. "The phone connection at my house has been completely cut off. My parents called an electrician to figure out the problem, but still no luck. Plus, I lost my cell phone this spring on our class trip to Egypt…but you already know that."

She couldn't breathe. These words were supposed to be making her feel better, but it was like a giant boulder was crushing her lungs. She felt horrible. Awful. She wished she could think of the right word to describe exactly how stupid and disgusting she felt right at that moment, but there was none. In all the English language, nothing was nearly dark and pitiful enough.

At her silence, Roxas started worrying that she was ignoring him because she was upset. "I know it's no excuse. I mean, I admit I've been procrastinating. I should've found another way to contact you _weeks_ ago, but I…I don't know. I was worried about what you'd say. I mean, I feel so insignificant to you now. I thought you were going to tell me how great everything was going, how amazing the school was, how awesome your apartment was…" He paused to take a deep breath in. "How much better the guys were."

That sentence just sent Naminé spiralling down into a pit of despair. She felt like she might die right there and then. Just collapse and never wake up…which, sadly enough, may have been the best course of action. She felt disgusting. She felt like her skin no longer fit her; like she was too dirty to be identified by her name anymore. She had betrayed him. She had jumped to conclusions. She had thought that he was chickening out and by not calling was his way of breaking up with her. She was too hurt to think straight. Too depressed to remember—remember what kind of person he was, all the things he had done for her, even to bother with _who_ he was. He was Roxas; the same Roxas who had always been strong and forthright with whatever he had on his mind. And she had thought _this_ was his way of breaking up with her? She had been such an idiot! _She_ was the one who had been the coward, turning all her pent-up need for being loved onto someone else, someone she barely knew. And now she had hurt so many people because of it—Roxas, Riku, and herself. She broke into tears at the thought. She wanted to just sink through the floor to a place where no one knew her, where she could just escape from herself and never return. And as she listened to Roxas's concerned voice asked her if she was okay repeatedly through the receiver, she slid down onto her knees and tried to talk like nothing was wrong.

**xXx**

Naminé peered through the glass door into Tifa's, making sure she wouldn't be seen. Should she come in or not? She couldn't decide. Everything was so messed up. She watched Riku carefully. He seemed different for some reason. Riku always acted all cool around her, and now she could see how he acted otherwise. His long, silver hair fell in his face constantly as he bent over each time to get coffee cups and plates from the shelf. His eyes were a little lowered as he worked, almost as if he was thinking things over. For all Naminé knew, he could be trying to figure out the meaning of life, he looked so concentrated. Suddenly Tifa came bouncing up and plopped herself down on a bright red stool in front of the counter. Riku ignored her for a moment, looking a little annoyed at the sudden disruption of his train of thought when she started talking. But after awhile, he warmed up to her being there. He talked back. He frowned. He smiled. He blushed a little sometimes. This wasn't a normal boss-employee conversation. It wasn't on a professional level at all. It was an exchange between friends. And the more Naminé watched, the more jealous she became—she was envious of Tifa and her beauty, her kind demeanour, her natural way of luring people in. And suddenly, the nearly impossible happened. Riku broke out into a grin and laughed. It was the most beautiful thing Naminé had ever seen. His teeth were a pearly white, and his mouth opened so wide she could see each and every one of them. His eyes closed, but didn't crinkle like most people's, just smoothed out in the most relaxed way. His cheeks went from its normal whitish colour to a light pink. He was the definition of joy and happiness. It was like an angel was laughing, not a slightly gothic-looking young adult male.

Naminé ran her fingers down the glass. She had never seen Riku laugh like that. Never. He'd chuckled, he'd snorted, but he'd never actually full-out laughed. At least, not like that. Yet another one of Tifa's talents.

It occurred to Naminé that whenever she'd talked with him she'd always forced a conversation. He may have never wanted to talk her, but had decided to put up with it because he was such a nice guy. She'd come and visit him every morning. She'd brought up the idea of a date. She'd done everything—_everything_—in this friendship for him.

Maybe he didn't want to be her friend. Maybe he'd _never_ wanted to be. Maybe there was too little resistance in him to refuse her. It made her sad. It made her want to cry. It made her want to run. But instead she just stood there, watching him smile and chuckle and talk to Tifa cheerfully as the summer heat attacked her from behind.

Naminé had wanted to tell Riku about Roxas's phone call, even if it damaged their relationship. But what was there to damage if there had been no relationship in the first place? She felt trapped in her own life. And suddenly a realization came over her—she had not betrayed Roxas. She'd just wished she had.

She turned to run back to her apartment, but the fragments of guilt still remained. She looked back inside at Tifa's, but Riku had forgotten her existence, and she'd rather not remind him. She had nowhere to go. Even Radiant Garden had lost its appeal, what with her mother and her boyfriend all ready to pounce as soon as she got there. So she sat herself down on the curb and cried into her sleeveless arm, ignoring the strange looks passers-by gave her as they continued on their way, to the rest of their life—their life that was not broken or painful, otherwise _they_ would've been the ones sitting on the sidewalk, making fools of themselves.

She had nowhere to go, but she was starting to get used to it. It still hurt to think about, but she was getting bored of her whole life. Why had she come here in the first place? To go to university, of course. But school didn't start for a whole two months, and the last thing on her mind was her education. She wondered what would've happened if she had never come here. She would've led a happy life with her friends and her large but kind family. Her mother and her wouldn't be fighting but probably a little on the cold side. She and Roxas would be the happiest couple in all of Radiant Garden. She probably would've never met Riku, which was both a negative and a positive, looking at her current situation. She liked Riku. A lot. But there was something in the pit of her stomach that kept telling her that wasn't a good thing.

She wondered what to do. She couldn't think of anything. So she tried to keep her mind blank and just sat there, withering away in her own depression.

**xXx**

"Naminé?"

The blonde girl looked up in a daze, feeling her head twist uncomfortably to see a tall, silver-haired boy looking down at her. His stupid-looking apron and hat were off, even though Naminé didn't mind it so much anymore, after seeing him like that about ninety percent of the time. He still looked good, in his black pullover and loose jeans, but in his sunny apron it felt like she had more of a chance to see that smile—that irresistibly magnetic grin that shone brighter than the sun. Okay, maybe that went over the top. But Riku's smile could cure cancer, for sure.

"Oh, hi." Now she just felt like the biggest idiot the world's ever seen. How long had she been sitting there in her misery? She was such a loser. She hung her head and waited for Riku to laugh at her—and not in a good way.

But Riku didn't laugh. He plopped down beside her, and she felt embarrassed by how easily he had done it. It occurred to her that he didn't care about how strange and homeless he looked sitting there, so she turned to look at him. He didn't look back, but there was something about their silence that seemed to explain everything. "How long have you been sitting here?' he was asking her without actually voicing the question. "A long time," she admitted. And none of it needed to be said because it was already obvious. And for no particular reason at all, Naminé realized she needed Riku more than anything at that moment. He was God sent, she now knew, to help her deal with everything she had gone through in her strenuous relocation from Radiant Garden to Twilight Town. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, and kept visualizing that beautiful smile of his. She didn't need him to smile for her. She just needed him. Period. Riku made no movement. He didn't put his arm around her, or put his head over hers, or anything remotely intimate, but that just made her adore him more. After a moment of absolutely no interaction, Naminé put her hand over his, but couldn't find the strength to lift her head.

"Let's go inside," she said, as more of an order than a suggestion.

"You mean inside Tifa's?" he asked, not looking too impressed by the idea. "But I was just there!" She gave him a pleading glance.

"I haven't eaten anything today," she commented.

"Nothing?" He looked surprised and a little horrified. That's how you react after working at a restaurant everyday. She shook her head. He paused, looked at her sad, puppy face, and seemed to weigh his options. "Fine," he finally said, relinquishing a long sigh.

"Thank you!" she chirped happily, and they both stood up. Naminé's joints ached like crazy from staying in the same position for so long, and both her feet were asleep, but she dealt with all the aches and pains and put her hand in his as they walked in. Riku pretended not to notice, but the telltale redness of his cheeks gave him away.

"You seem to only cause trouble for me, Blondie." He looked at her before shaking his head. She giggled, even though she positively _hated_ when people called her "Blondie", but she decided to let it slide since she wanted her one moment of pure happiness that day to last.

"It happens to be my special talent," she remarked, and they entered through the glass doors to meet with the warm, familiar scent of their favourite diner.

**xXx**

Food tastes _so good_. Naminé made that discovery as she practically inhaled all the food in sight. But her stomach was not nearly satisfied. She kept eating and eating, but it seemed like it was all falling into a bottomless pit.

"Hey, slow down, will you?" Riku asked with a smirk plastered on his face. "I don't want you to throw up all over me five minutes later."

"Can'sht shtop," she said, her voice muffled by the half a burger, quarter plate of fries, and side of sausages all stuffed into her mouth at once. "Too hungry."

"It's a scientific marvel, really," he continued, turning around so that his back was against the counter. "How you can fit all that food into that tiny body."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she said, pausing to reach for a napkin and pat her mouth in a very lady-like way. Riku raised an eyebrow.

"How could you possibly take that as a compliment?" he asked, out of genuine curiosity, but also a little teasingly.

"Well, you _did_ say my body was tiny."

"I meant short." He smirked. She found herself wishing he would laugh again, even though she knew it wasn't necessary. She didn't _need_ it to happen, but she most certainly _wanted_ it to happen.

"Riku Allen! Are you saying I'm fat?" She wasn't really offended, but she laid out the words in the most melodramatic way possible, since it was her duty as a girl.

"No, I'm saying your _short_. God, are you deaf or did some of the massive amounts of food you stuffed in your face get in your ears?" Naminé couldn't think of a good comeback to that, so she just puffed out her cheeks angrily. Riku stared at her for a second, a look of blatant surprise on his face at her ballooned cheeks, before bursting out into peals of laughter. In an instant Naminé's ridiculous expression disappeared as she stared in wonder at how amazingly beautiful he looked at that moment. It looked even better close-up, and she felt like he was suddenly going to grow feathery wings and take her up into the clouds. After realizing that Naminé wasn't laughing, but rather just staring at him with a disconcerting intensity, he stopped and looked at her. "What?"

"You're pretty," she said bluntly, and Riku not only looked at her like she was crazy, but also went through a series of fits like he was coughing up a hairball.

"You did _not_ just say that," he remarked, after his slight seizure had passed. It wasn't threatening, just complete and utter shock.

"I'm sorry, I had to," she admitted. "I mean, your smile…it's, like, so amazingly gorgeous…Maybe it's just because it's so rare, but…seriously…"

She felt sad. She knew for sure that now that she had said such a thing, Riku would never smile for her again. But she didn't have the heart to lie to him. His kindness had completely broken through all her defences.

"_Great_," sighed Riku sarcastically, rolling his eyes and deepening his frown. "'A gorgeous smile'…what a manly trait to have."

"It's not necessarily a bad thing," Naminé stated. "I mean, girls would be falling all over you. That is, if you smiled. Which you don't."

"I can't help it. The world sucks." He paused and took a sip of his coffee—the one thing he had ordered. ("Caffeine keeps me alive," were his exact words.) "Speaking of situations that suck, exactly what are you so depressed about?"

Naminé sat up straight, which of course caught his attention, and his narrowed eyes watched her carefully as she coughed and turned to him, putting her fork on her plate with a clang.

"I don't want to beat around the bush," she remarked, but her heart was pounding and she felt extremely cold and uncomfortably hot at the same time. She clasped her hands together, her fingers shaking miserably. Oh, how she suddenly wished she was anywhere else! She couldn't think straight. Her voice wasn't working.

"My, what a lovely shade of green you've turned," Riku commented mockingly, but nonetheless there was a certain tone of gentleness in his voice that suggested that he actually meant to say, "Continue."

"It's…well…it's _him_." God forbid, she could not say his name. Riku cocked his head to the side.

"_Him?_" Riku repeated, staring at her. "I'm afraid I'll need a little more than that."

Naminé took a deep breath and tapped her fingers on the countertop for a little bit, before turning to him, her eyes wide with worry and a little fright.

"I…I believe…well, know for a fact, that it's R…R-Roxas." Her throat was dry, which made it uncomfortable to speak, but nevertheless the words came out, and Riku looked at her in apparent surprise.

"Wait, Roxas?" he questioned, looking troubled. "You mean your boyfriend?"

She paused, and with a slight nod of her head the magic of the evening was flushed away. The silver-haired boy said nothing for a bit, before standing up promptly and looking at her.

"I think I should take you home," he said solidly. His eyes actually gave the impression that they could shoot poisonous darts. Apparently looks _could_ kill, depending on the person.

"Take me home?" she repeated, the words sounding ridiculous on her tongue. She felt like she was in one of those romance novels, except she wasn't the main female character—she was the mean, side one that blocked the main female from getting to the main male. And now that the main male had realized what she was doing, he was kicking her out, but he was too nice to not walk her home. "What do you mean? Don't you want to know what he said?"

"No, Naminé, surprisingly I do _not_ feel the necessity for you to share your sappy phone conversation with me, but thanks for the invitation." His voice had gone icy. He wasn't going to take any crap, she could tell. But she wasn't _trying_ to give him crap! She just wanted to talk to him, that's all. Riku walked over to the door and held it open for her, gesturing towards it with his left arm. "Now come on, I'm walking you home."

Despite all the childish things she had done that day, she felt angry that Riku thought she needed a babysitter. _She_ had always been the babysitter, and not only with her endless supply of siblings, but with her friends too. She had always been the mature one that got them out of trouble, and now it seemed she had switched roles with a waiter at the local diner.

"I don't need you to accompany me, thanks," she said angrily. "You know, I'm not five years old, and can find my way back to my apartment at night without a supervisor!"

"Don't be stupid. There are perverts wandering the streets in big cities like this."

"And what do you know about that? I thought you came from Destiny Islands! You don't know anything about big cities, whereas I, who has lived in one all my life, know how to take care of myself so…"

"Fine! Whatever! But if you end up getting raped or something it's not my problem!" Riku's voice rose to almost the same level as hers. His words didn't exactly fly past her, but she was too frustrated with his behaviour to feel hurt.

"LIKE I CARE!!!" she yelled, storming out of the still-open doorway onto the streetlamp-lit streets of Twilight Town.

"HEY, NEXT TIME YOU WANT BREAKFAST, WHY DON'T YOU JUST ASK ROXAS, 'CAUSE YOU'RE SURE NOT GETTING IT HERE!!!" The door slammed shut with such a startling force that Naminé half-expected the glass to shatter. She found herself looking into the many eyes of the customers still inside of Tifa's, now looking at her through the clear windows with wide eyes, probably wondering what the hell had just happened.

"Like I know!" she said to a particularly large man in a brown suit who seemed to be the most curious of all. He couldn't hear her but she figured she got the idea across, because the next moment he quickly looked away.

Naminé walked out into the night with only her thoughts to keep her company. It was getting kind of cold so she rubbed her hands on her arms for warmth. She wanted to show Riku up by doing something particularly dangerous, but she avoided dark alleys nonetheless. She wasn't stupid, just furious.

Usually by now Naminé would feel like crying. But she didn't. She felt like breaking stuff—just blowing everything up in this terrible waste-of-time city—but when it got down to it she was sad. She had finally pushed Riku to his limit. And if Roxas found out about the other boy, he would probably be equally as mad, if not more so.

_Boys are stupid,_ she found herself thinking. But she could only lie to herself for so long. _She_ had been the wrong one in this ordeal, jumping to conclusions, acting without thinking. She had hurt a good boyfriend and a better friend all in one go. And now she could no longer deny it.

**So anyway, hellooo! This chapter was a long one, I know. I got tired writing it. I got the perfect idea for the ending of this story, and it looks like I'm actually going to be ending it in, like, four chapters or so, maybe less! Can you believe it? I DIDN'T THINK SO! **

**I can't believe how many of you hate Roxas all of a sudden! Seeing as I ruined the "surprise" last chapter, I decided that the "surprise" wouldn't be the "surprise" at all just to "surprise" you! How clever was that? Yeah, I know, you may bow. (Kidding.) Anyway, Riku sounds like a real sweetie in this chapter, like one of those lemon gum drops that taste **_**way**_** too sweet to have lemon in them, but nonetheless look sour. (What am I going on about?) Well, I just wanted you to know that I still prefer jerk Riku. Even though this new lemon drop version is all right. **

**Read and review!**

**See ya, chicas! **


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